Titans, GO!
by Farr2rich
Summary: Episode 5: Someone is making random attacks at odd places like bookstores, business offices, and restaurants. Are these arbitrary or is there a method to the madness? Robin & Starfire, Beast Boy & Raven, Cyborg & Jinx.
1. Introduction

I've been gone for a very long time and I am happy to be back. I've scraped my Jak II story because I wasn't satisfied with it, and the SSB because I couldn't think of a plot. Recently, however, I discovered the Teen Titans anime. I think the show is great, but it leaves a lot to be desired, so I'm going to try to expand the emotional parts of it and make it more fulfilling. I'll try to make it as realistic as possible, which means some villains will be cut, while others will be added in. Also, I've seen every episode and might continue it past season 5 if I get ideas for additional episodes. By the way, I am a Robin x Starfire fan and a BeastBoy x Raven fan. Letting you know now so if you don't like those pairings you don't have to read any of this. To make those pairings work I will be making some major changes to the series. I'll be mostly following the series, but will change some episodes around and make changes to the storyline, reasons for which will be given after each chapter. The M rating is because of gore, and possibly some sensual scenes later: I've never written any and am nervous about foraying into that territory.

All that said, it feels good to be writing again, and I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: Teen Titans belongs to DC and all them.

* * *

Episode 0: Introduction

An alarm blared in a maximum security complex as a giant walked through a set of solid steel doors. Or more accurately, it smashed through them, leaving a trail of destruction as it strode through the courtyard.

"_Code Red! Cell block 9! Move out_," a lieutenant barked as he led his half-dozen squadron through the wreckage. The seven men walked through the field and looked around, their eyes trained behind the visors for any sign of the intruder.

"Main yard secure," the leader radioed to the complex after scouring the area.

"I don't like this," one guard remarked.

"Me neither. No way something that big could just disappear without a trace," his friend agreed. Seconds later a five hundred pound door landed at the feet of the squadron. They looked from where it came and saw something that astonished them: what appeared to be a person made out of concrete forcing the doors leading inside open. It was only discernable because it was moving; otherwise it was the same shade as the wall behind it.

"Stop him: he'll free the prisoners!" the lieutenant barked as he leveled his stun gun and fired. The rest of his men quickly followed his lead and a barrage of bolts streaked towards the hulking enigma. As they impacted the stone back of the creature, the beams disintegrated into nothing more than sparks, but they did appear to catch the creature's attention. It turned around and growled menacingly. With a single stomp of its foot, the giant sent a shockwave at the guards, causing them to lose their balance and fall into cracks that spread out all over the ground.

The giant strode confidently through the complex, knowing exactly where to go. As it entered the main hallway, a young impish voice called out from the shadows, "you know, rock-head, normally the bad guys break _out_ of jail."

"And I can think of five reasons why you don't want to break in," another male voice said, this one older and much more authoritative. A young man leapt from the ceiling, covered in a thin suit of bright red and green. A yellow "R" set against black covered his heart, a yellow utility belt was around his waist and a cape billowed out behind him as he landed gracefully. He looked up, his eyes hidden behind a mask. "I'm one."

"Two," a third voice said. The tone sounded like one prone to giggling, and was coming from a late teenage girl hovering in midair. Her bright purple tank top, skirt, and knee high boots contrasted nicely with her orange skin, and her green eyes matched the jewels in his necklace and gauntlets.

"Three!" exclaimed a hulking robot. As it moved from the shadows, most of it seemed to be robot, but half the face and a few other pats of the body were still human. The machinery shone a bright blue and had a silver sheen to it. His dark brown eye matched his skin as he flexed his mechanical arms, clearly ready for a fight.

"Four," said a scratchy dark voice as the source emerged from through the wall. Her pale skin was mostly hidden behind a bright blue cloak and hoodie, her purple eyes gleaming from the shadow her hood cast across her face. Dark red jewels were engraved by her wrists on her outfit, with a matching jewel acting as a clasp for her cloak. A belt of gold and these same jewels adorned her waist though it was lopsided, having been made a few sizes too big.

A bright green falcon swooped down from the ceiling and morphed into a tiger as it landed on a banister. It leapt down to the ground floor and turned into a thin green-skinned human with green eyes and fangs. His purple and black suit covered most of his body, except for his face and hands. "And I'm five!" he said, revealing himself to be the one that had spoken up originally.

The five teens arranged themselves so the one with the mask was in the center. He stepped forward, clearly the leader. "No matter how you do the math, it all adds up to you going down. So, are you going to come quietly?"

"Or is this gonna get loud?" the android smirked.

The giant roared as a response and charged the teens, its fist raised for a fight.

"TEEN TITANS, GO!" the leader cried as they charged the giant in return.

* * *

There's the introduction, just so you have a feel for my writing. Changed the order of introduction simply because I can :P. Please review and don't hold back feedback, even if it's negative. Criticism can make this story better than it would be normally, however, please no profanity or mindless "This sucks" etc. If you don't like something, tell me why and an idea for fixing it, otherwise I'll probably just ignore it. If you can't think of a way to fix the problem, at least tell me what reason you have for disliking it.

I hope you all have a good day, and thank you for reading.


	2. Episode I: Divide and Conquer

To those who reviewed:

Star of Airdrie- Well, thank you very much for being the first person to review :). I am already working on chapter two, but the going will be slow, as I need to constantly reference the show. By the way, is LJ your initials, or does it represent something?

* * *

Author's Note: Well, one review so far: surprising since the first chapter was essentially a huge Author's Note with an introduction. Also, sorry I posted this story twice: Fanfiction did not put it up the first time for some reason. Must be a glitch. Anyway, the intro gave you a feel for my type of writing: this is a better example.

Just so you know, most of this will feel like a script of the cartoon. I am going to follow the episodes very closely, copying dialogue and actions, so writing this will be a slow process. I will not, therefore, be updating once a day, since just doing a half-hour episode can take around eight hours or more with the pausing and typing. Then I go back, change what I want and add new things. Considering all my other responsibilities, an update once a week should be a realistic expectation.

Disclaimer: Teen Titans is not mine, otherwise it would still be on the air.

* * *

Chapter One: Divide and Conquer

The leader of the team streaked forward and reached the giant first. He back flipped to avoid a punch from the rocky creature and used his landing momentum to propel himself forward.

"Starfire, go!" he cried out as he flew up and landed a kick to the giant's face with such force that the creature, easily in the excess of 500 pounds, spun halfway around. The orange-skinned girl extended her hands and her eyes, the pupil and cornea alike, began to glow a luminescent green as energy beams of the same color left her palms. They streaked towards the monster's back and impacted, causing it to stumble forward. The android did a running leap over the monster and landed on a wall. Pushing off, he threw a punch intended to hit the giant in the face; however, it still had good enough reflexes to block the attack.

Starfire threw a few more blasts at the creature as it tried to run off, but stopped when she saw her green friend take the form of a falcon and streak towards it. The bird dodged in and out of the creature's range as it scratched the face with its claws.

The creature growled, getting annoyed with how its mission was progressing: this was supposed to have been a quick assignment but was beginning to drag on. Its dull mind became clouded with anger and blindly charged at the pale-skinned girl. Her eyes began to glow pure white and she lifted her hands up, causing a slab of the cement floor to rise up like a wall. The ten-foot cement creature head butted the makeshift wall and reached out to grab the girl, but she was nowhere to be seen. Out of the corner of its eye, the fiend saw a flash of blue and witnessed her talking off. He began to follow her but the sounds of footsteps to his right distracted him. He turned and lashed out, catching the cyborg and leader in their chests.

As the two males went flying backwards, Starfire fired a few starbolts from her hands, but the creature shrugged them off before reaching out and grabbing her. Pulling her closer to him, he leaned in and snarled at her. To his surprise, a cheeky smile lit her face.

"I am sorry to disappoint you," Starfire said as closing her eyes. When she opened them again, they were glowing the bright green again, "but I am stronger than I look!" She glared at him, brought her right leg up, and smashed it into the creature's face. It was caught off-guard by such a surprise attack and threw her across the room as he stumbled back a few steps. As it hit a wall, the falcon streaked towards the ground and morphed quickly into something that had only been seen in books: a Tyrannosaurus Rex. It was just as green as the human had been, with black horizontal stripes running down its back and tail.

The dinosaur backed up a step or two and crouched, snorting and snarling. With a roar, it charged the creature with its fangs bared, only to be struck and sent flying backwards. The changeling was dazed and lost concentration, reverting to his human form as he soared through the air.

The pale girl had her eyes closed, focusing her mental energy for an attack. "Azarath… Metrion…" she chanted as she readied herself. She opened her eyes and gasped, concentration broken, as she saw a dinosaur flying towards her. The green teen rose, rubbing his head as he got to his feet.

"BeastBoy…" a menacing voice said.

Seeing the glare he was attracting from the girl made him nervous and he tried to lighten the situation with humor. "Uh, watch out for falling dinosaurs?" he quipped with a grin. She maintained her look and blew a bang of violet hair out of her face. "Yeah… I'm gonna leave you alone now, Raven," he said as he backed away from her, not wanting to see her get mad.

The monster chuckled as he turned and made to go down the corridor again. The leader leapt onto its back and tried to get it in a stranglehold. Considering his opponent lacked a windpipe, it was proving quite difficult. The creature roared and whipped around, trying to dislodge the human from its back, but the teen held on with determination. "Thrashing only makes me hold tighter," he warned as the cement ogre ripped a girder off the wall. A large chunk of cement was attached to the top of the girder, giving it the appearance of a crude hammer. "_He wouldn't be that stupid_…" the teen thought as the creature raised the girder above its head. He leapt off and watched as the monster smashed its head with the metal.

"I guess he would be that stupid," he said.

"Now there's an idea," the android smirked as he ripped a smaller girder off the wall. The two quickly got into a fight, using the girders as hammers. While the fiend was larger and stronger, the android was quicker and able to get in closer where the monster's huge reach was a disadvantage.

"Get him Cyborg!" the leader cheered on as he watched.

Cyborg grunted as he tried to match the strength of the creature. As it broke a weapons lock and forced him back, he charged in trying to catch it by surprise. As the cement creature spun and lashed out with its weapon, Cyborg realized he had fallen for a trap and groaned as he was with a hundred and fifty pounds of concrete. He soared backwards and his body dragged across the ground, producing an irritating screech.

The brute turned around and saw Starfire and Raven hovering. He raised the girder menacingly, but Starfire sent a beam of energy at it and caused it to glow a bright red. As the metal turned soft and lost its strength, Starfire giggled and laughed at the monster's facial expression. It ripped the soft metal in half and threw the pieces at the women, forcing them to dodge in midair, before it turned and ran down the corridor again.

Cyborg sat up and groaned, rubbing his head as his vision swam. It was extremely disconcerting to have a human eye unfocused and swimming and an electronic eye determined to keep everything in focus. He saw a green glove extend towards him and grabbed it. As the spiky-haired leader helped Cyborg up, he grabbed a disk from his utility belt.

"Wanna give this guy the 'Sonic Boom'?" he asked.

Cyborg smiled and raised his right arm. The machinery whirred to life, separating and changing shape until it resembled something more like a cannon. "I got the 'Sonic' if you got the 'Boom' Robin," he said, looking at his teammate. The two nodded and streaked down the corridor after the escaping behemoth, with the other team members quickly following behind.

"Yo, rock-head!" Cyborg taunted to get the monster's attention. It worked; as the creature stopped running and turned around, Robin and Cyborg each ran up a wall and leapt off forward and towards each other. However, a moment before their attack, their ankles hooked together and they slammed into opposite walls. Cyborg's right arm let loose a sonic cannon blast into the ceiling above Raven and BeastBoy, causing the ceiling to cave in. BeastBoy quickly looked up and cowered while Raven's eyes glowed white again and she used her telekinesis to move the falling cement away from them. Robin's disk flew out of his hand and landed near Starfire, who let out a squeak as it exploded and sent her flying back ten feet. She caught herself in midair and hovered down to the ground safely, shocked but relatively unharmed.

The concrete creature laughed and turned around, having sensed that the mission had gone on long enough. Smashing his way through a series of wall, the Teen Titans lost sight of the creature as criminals poked their heads through the holes.

"Hey, hey; look at this: its freedom!" one of them shouted as he made his way for the exit.

"Let's get out of here," another exulted as his fellow criminals began to rush out.

Robin staggered to his feet, dazed and wounded. He saw the incoming rush of prisoners and grabbed a foot long piece of metal from his back. It extended into a five-foot bo-staff as he motioned for his teammates to help him contain the prison break. As most of the criminals wouldn't pose a threat to one Titan even when armed, the five superheroes were able to quickly take down all but the quickest.

"Raven- head them off," Robin barked as he took down another three gangsters. The pale girl nodded and disappeared through a swirling black vortex in the floor…

* * *

The creature slowly walked towards a steel door, reading it to make sure he had the right one.

"Prisoner 365901. ABSOLUTE SILENCE!" the sign warned. The last word confirmed the giant's thoughts and he quickly broke the door down with three punches. He walked forward into a calm, sea-blue room. In the center was a holding tube filled with a pale-blue liquid, and floating in the middle of the liquid was the object of the ogre's search. He eyed the skinny sleeping man, wearing nothing but a rubber loincloth, with tubes sticking out of his body and a breathing apparatus covering his mouth and nose, and snorted in disgust. The creature found it difficult to believe his master would send him through so much trouble for such a small and useless person.

Growling impatiently, the giant grabbed the sides of the tube and ripped it from the wall. It held the tube, around four feet in diameter, under one arm and smashed through the floor with the other. It hopped down the hole it had created and continued in this manner until it reached the sewers. It opened a compartment on its chest and pulled out what looked like a GPS. Following the directions slowly and carefully so as not to damage his prize, the monster made its way back to its master…

* * *

"Let's go, let's go!" one of the prisoners cried to his partner as they ran for the exit. They had made it into the courtyard and saw where the metal doors ad been blasted away. They took off for the entrance, eagerly awaiting the freedom they had been stripped of.

"I think we're going to make it," the second one shouted as they got within fifteen feet of the hole. Suddenly, the mangled metal doors were covered in a black light and flew towards the hole, bending and refitting themselves to fit in again. Both criminals stopped short, their eyes wide and jaws dropping at the impossibility they had just witnessed.

A black energy portal opened in the doors and the hooded girl materialized out of the portal she had created. Her eyes went from glowing white back to their usual purple as she observed the stunned men with dislike. "Think again," she said. "Or better yet, start thinking period," she added, motioning towards them with her hands. They were wrapped in the same light the doors had been and she pulled them back into the prison complex as she flew to rejoin her team…

* * *

BeastBoy changed back into his human self from a gorilla as he watched the prisoners be led back into new, unbroken cells. "Jail break? I don't see any jail break," he said smugly to his teammates, trying to lighten up the mood. Raven's expression did not change except to look at BeastBoy, while Starfire was too busy anxiously watching Robin and Cyborg. Both Titans were quite upset, and the entire team was waiting for the collision that was sure to happen.

"None of us would have seen anything if Cyborg hadn't messed up," Robin snapped, folding his arms and turning away from his cybernetic friend.

"Me?" Cyborg retaliated indignantly. "I messed up nothing. _You_ got in _my_ way," he snapped.

"Well, you were too far forward, and that thing got away because of it!" Robin exclaimed angrily, turning to face his large teammate.

"You sayin' this is MY FAULT!?" Cyborg shouted.

"You want me to say it again?" Robin growled. The two looked at each other with swords dancing in their eyes.

"Stop: no more mean-talking now please," Starfire said, putting her body between the boys'. Robin and Cyborg turned their backs again as BeastBoy decided to join in.

"Yeah guys, calm down for now at least. If you two are gonna fight, we need time to sell tickets."

"That thing, whatever it was, escaped. No amount of yelling will change that, so stop acting like idiots, and let's all go home," Raven said, trying to be the voice of reason before things got out of control. She pulled her hood down as she talked, revealing a red jewel in the middle of her forehead. Robin and Cyborg glared at one another before walking away in opposite directions. Raven rolled her eyes as Starfire followed Robin with her eyes and BeastBoy trained his on Cyborg.

"Loser," Robin muttered under his breath.

"Jerk," Cyborg grumbled under his.

An instant later, the two were back at each other's throats. "What did you say?" each demanded of the other.

"You got a problem, tin-man?" Robin snarled.

"Yeah: its five feet tall and smells like cheap hair gel," Cyborg snapped back, smiling as he saw Robin clench his jaw.

"Well you're an oversized klutz and your feet smell like motor oil."

"You're bossy; you're rude; you got no taste in music…"

"You're just mad because I always show you up in the obstacle course."

"You don't like that I'm better than you at video games."

"If you would stop always trying to be the first guy in none of this would have happened."

"Me go first? You crazy, paranoid, hypercompetitive little-"

"I don't even know why you on the team," Robin shouted. Their voices had steadily been getting louder, and their teammates stood by, following the volleying insults with their eyes.

"That makes two of us. I QUIT!" Cyborg bellowed. Eight eyes widened and four jaws dropped as the android spun on the heel of his foot and stormed down the passageway, his feet cracking the cement as he stomped. Robin stared at his friend, stunned, until Cyborg stepped out of sight. Not caring if the others saw, he hung his head and closed his eyes.

* * *

Gears turned, creating a grinding noise. Interspersed with pistons and other pieces of mechanisms, the cavernous room echoed with a musical rhythm of machinery. A large man sat in the only chair in the room, a dull light casting down on him, giving him the appearance of a foreboding king. Only his left eye was visible, gleaming in the shadows of his face. Only pieces of his clothing could be seen, mostly a tight mesh suit with larger plates of metallic covering.

A blue light erupted, shining down on the concrete creature as it entered the room. It was still carrying the large tube with the man inside. It put the tube down gently in front of the man, almost like an offering one would make to a temple

"Cinderblock," the man said, acknowledging the creature's presence. His voice was deep and had a rich current of emotions in it, as though it was an instrument its wielder could play expertly. It could be crushing or soothing, taunting or encouraging, enraged or pleased. And right now, it was pleased.

Very pleased.

The man's eye traveled from the thug to the trophy. "I see your mission was a success. Good. We will proceed with Phase II. Wake him," he ordered.

Cinderblock responded immediately, pulling the lid off the tube and drawing the liquid out. The man inside slowly began to come out of his deep sleep into a doze. Moments later, he was stirring, and his beige eyes looked around in horror.

"I'm… awake?" he asked nobody in particular, terror creeping into his voice.

"Yes, Otto, you are awake," the man in the dark stated, his voice betraying boredom.

"But… but I should never be awake," the man protested. "I'm only human when I'm sleeping. You have to put me to sleep. You can't let me be awa-"

"But for what I have in mind, your human form is useless," the man said coolly, interrupting Otto's ranting. "I need… _Plasmus_."

At the sound of his last word, Otto's face and body began to become distorted. The form began to expand and lose its solidity. As the skin turned purple and continued to expand, the pressure on the tube caused it to explode. A pile of dark purple sludge gathered itself into a humanoid pile about seven feet tall and looked around, its green eyes glowing in the dark.

"Here, here, Plasmus," the man taunted. "Come and play…" he said as he leapt backwards into the dark. The purple sludge followed him obediently, sensing the man was the reason for its freedom.

"Just wait and see the fun I have planned for you…" the man said as his new minion followed him into the darkness.

* * *

"_This is Cyborg. I'm either in the gym, thrashin' someone at GameStation, or kickin' bad guy butt. Leave a messa-_

"

"Damn!" BeastBoy growled as he heard the annoying message for what seemed like the thousandth time. He paced back and forth in the T-Tower living room, waiting for the beep so he could record another message.

"Hello, Cy pick up. Come on, Cy- pick up." BeastBoy waited for a moment or two, hoping to hear a click. When he didn't he let out another sigh. "I know you're there: the phone's built into your arm. Come on Cy: it's been a week already. Get over your stupid fight with Robin and get back here. Robin's no fun, Starfire spends all her time in the kitchen, and Raven is-" BeastBoy cut short as the female turned to look at him from where she was working. "Working real hard at maintaining this place since you left." When he continued to hear silence, BeastBoy clicked the phone off and growled. Raven turned around and watched him pace for a few seconds before going back to monitoring the Tower. Cyborg had the systems linked up to his circuitry, but with him gone, it required a lot more monitoring.

BeastBoy growled again out of frustration and turned around to see Starfire hovering in front of him. "Here," she said, raising a wooden spoon with a beige gelatinous liquid. "Taste," she added as she shoved the spoon into his mouth. BeastBoy began to gag and convulse as his body immediately began to try to expel the foreign substance. He opened his mouth and watched the pudding fly out and land on the carpet before dashing to the sink and chugging water, trying to rid his mouth of the taste.

"What is that?" he demanded. "Cream of Toenail Fungus?"

"Pudding of Sadness. It is what the people of my planet eat when bad things happen," she corrected as she ate some. She swallowed with difficulty and shuddered as tears streamed down her face from the taste. She soared over to where Raven was and offered the bowl. "Try," she offered with a smile. Not getting a reaction from the psychic, she added "the displeasing taste will ease your troubled mind."

"Don't do it Raven: that stuff is terrible," BeastBoy advised.

"Oh good: I was worried that it would come out tasting decent. I have not made it in a while. Please partake in some," Starfire offered again.

"Unnecessary. My mind is not troubled," Raven responded, turning to look at the hovering alien. "People come, people go: it's pointless to get upset over Cyborg," she claimed. At her last word, her hair swirled behind her in a vortex pattern and spider-web cracks streaked throughout all the monitors along the wall. Starfire gaped, her mouth full of pudding at the reaction of Raven. "What?" Raven asked as she turned back to the monitors and began mending them with her powers.

Starfire left her two friends and began searching for Robin. BeastBoy turned to Raven and watched as she mended the glass by tracing her fingers along the glass. "You really feel that way? I mean, he's been our friend now for a few years. Don't you miss him at all? Do you even care that he's gone?"

"Of course it matters to me, but the fact remains that people in life come and go. Life is full of meetings and partings. Cyborg joined us, now he's left us. If he is meant to come back to us, he will. If not, no amount of grief and sadness will change reality," Raven said as she finished fixing the displays.

* * *

Starfire wandered through the tower, searching for her other friend. She found him in the gym, viciously hitting the punching bag. She watched him as he threw attacks with lightning speed and deadly efficiency. Though the bag weighed somewhere over two hundred pounds, Robin put his full body into each blow, causing it to sway back and forth with the barrage of attacks he was unleashing. He stopped and hunched over after a few minutes, wiping his sweaty hair out of his eyes. He gazed a few feet to his left and saw his workout bench, and then looked a few feet farther to where Cyborg's had been. He saw the ridiculously heavy weights the android would use: the lightest of them equal to the biggest Robin could lift.

Sensing he was done exercising, Starfire approached him, holding her pudding close to her chest. "Here Robin, you must need this most of all, since… well," Starfire faltered near the end as she offered him some of the pudding. Robin stood up straight and continued gazing at Cyborg's old exercise bench.

"I'm fine," he said in a deadpan voice. "Who knows," he said as he walked out of them room, "maybe we're better off without him…"

Starfire stayed where she was and spooned another helping of pudding into her mouth. She walked out of the gym just in time to see Raven turning the corner, nose in a book.

"Friend, I was wondering if we could converse for a moment," Starfire said, drawing a sigh from the other girl.

"What is it Starfire?"

"Why has Robin been treating me differently lately?"

"It's because Cyborg is gone and Robin misses him, but is too pig-headed to admit it," Raven replied in an annoyed tone. She knew Starfire was intelligent- Raven hoped there had been more to the question than that.

"Forgive me, but when have you seen Robin with the head of a hog?"

"It means 'stubborn' Starfire."

"Oh. But if he misses Cyborg, why has Robin stopped watching TV with me and cancelled talking with me late at night."

"Because he's a boy: he doesn't understand his feelings very well and is embarrassed by them. He can't deal with Cyborg so he's taking it out on the rest of us." Raven sighed at Starfire's crestfallen look. "It's nothing you did," she said, trying to comfort the girl. "Robin's just adjusting to a change. Give him some time and space and he'll be alright. Crowding him will only make it worse," Raven advised, knowing Starfire liked to be comforted when upset and could not understand why others withdrew.

* * *

"_I need to clear my mind, relax_," Robin told himself as he wandered aimlessly throughout the tower. He arrived in the living room and saw the three hundred inch screen TV with the GameStation waiting to be played. He sighed and started up the new flying combat game Cyborg had bought. As one hour, and then two, went by, Robin began to really get into the game. He sat on the edge of his seat as he raced through the stages, seeing the high score in the corner as a challenge waiting to be beaten.

"Come on, come on," Robin muttered to himself. "Activate the reverse thrusters, back flip somersault," he mumbled the directions to himself, as though it would help him play better. Panicking as he saw his second-to-last hit point disappear, he mashed the buttons and let out a cry of victory as he beat the level in record time. "Oh yeah, new high score!" he exclaimed, only to frown when he saw that he had beaten Cyborg's old high score.

"Yo, who's turn to do dishes?" Robin heard BeastBoy gripe as he saw the tower of plates and bowls lining the counter by the sink. Knowing that Starfire actually enjoyed doing them and Raven was meticulous about her chores, Robin could also tell that BeastBoy wasn't trying to trick him into doing it. Robin's heart sank as he realized that he done the dishes last week.

"Cyborg's," Robin said softly as he walked up behind BeastBoy. He picked up a plate and began to wash, slowly going through the enormous pile of dishes. BeastBoy stood there for minute before helping Robin. They passed a few minutes in an awkward silence before Robin broke it. "Do you miss him?"

BeastBoy looked stunned: Robin hadn't so much as made a reference to Cyborg for the week, opting to leave the room whenever his name was mentioned. He waited a minute before speaking, going slow so as not to destroy the opportunity he had. "Well, yeah. Cy sure kept this place going as clean as a whistle. But on the other hand, now that he's gone I have a chance at breaking a few of his records," he added, trying to lighten the mood. Seeing Robin's stoic face, BeastBoy kept his mouth shut and kept washing dishes.

Robin remembered the good times he had had with Cyborg: playing GameStation; teasing BeastBoy; teaching Starfire mechanical things; building new gadgets and upgrades; and working out. Robin was so far in his mind that he didn't even hear the City's Alert System go off until everyone else had gathered around the monitor to pinpoint the source of trouble.

"What is it? That concrete guy again?" Robin asked as he joined the team. Starfire and Raven turned around and shook their heads as BeastBoy stood staring dumbfounded at the screen.

"You wish," he groaned. "Remember that prisoner the jail said had been kidnapped?"

"The one they codenamed 'Plasmus'?"

"Well, we found him."

As Raven and Starfire continued to look at him, Robin realized they were waiting for him. "Well, you heard BB Titans; let's move!" he said, faking as much enthusiasm as he could. The girls flew out of the room and BeastBoy quickly followed, turning into a kind of dog to keep up. Robin started to move out, but his eye caught the number of pictures the team attached to the wall in the kitchen. There were whole team shots, a few nature pictures, at least one portrait of each Titan, and a few others. One of the others was one with only Robin and Cyborg. Robin had his fist raised in victory while Cyborg leaned over his shorter teammate, ruffling Robin's hair and throwing out a "peace" sign. Robin thought back to the day that picture had been taken…

_Robin and Cyborg leapt apart from where they had been crouching to avoid the bomb thrown at them. The tall, lanky character facing them let out bursts of high-pitched laughter as he threw weapon after weapon at the duo. Robin was too busy deflecting attacks with his staff to think about an attack, and Cyborg was still trying repair his weapons system, which had been damaged by a blast of acid._

"_Come on, come on," Cyborg muttered furiously as he made connections and rerouted old power sources. He looked up to see Robin fall to the floor, thrown back by a punch. "Oh yeah, baby, Cyborg is back!" he exulted, leveling his sonic cannon at the villain. A blast of energy went forth and hit the villain right in the chest. Robin looked up in time to see him go flying back to hit a wall. He quickly grabbed a flash disk off his belt and threw it. The villain rubbed his head and saw the disk coming at him. He flicked his wrists and two cards went flying out from under his suit arms. One caused the disk to explode early, while the other grazed Robin's cheek, causing a think line of blood._

"_We need a new strategy," Cyborg grumbled._

"_If I could just hit him with a flash disk, it would stun him long enough for us to tie him up. But the only thing that moves fast enough to land a hit on him is your Sonic…"_

"_Cannon," Cyborg finished, seeing Robin's thought. They locked eyes and nodded._

"_No more jokes," Robin shouted as he threw a few spheres. They exploded in midair, causing a bright flash that temporarily stunned the villain. Robin threw his last flash disk as Cyborg shot it with his Sonic Cannon. The disk zoomed forward and exploded as it hit their foe in the chest. He grunted and fell to the ground just as Robin threw some restraining cables, wrapping him from shoulder to kneecap._

"_Oh, well done, bird-brain" the villain exclaimed as he laughed._

"_Sorry Joker, your act is over," Robin said as he stood over the man. Acid-green eyes stared out a pale face as the villain laughed._

"_Oh well, I could use a nice relaxing vacation," the Joker shrugged as he was hauled to his feet by some police._

"_Thanks Robin, Cyborg," the lieutenant said, shaking the hands of each Titan. "We couldn't have done it without you guys."_

"_You won! Splendid!" Starfire exclaimed as she landed. "What do you call that last attack that you did?"_

_Robin and Cyborg looked at each other and spoke at the same time. "The Sonic Boom," they said with a grin._

"_Could be worse: you guys could call it 'Big Bang'" BeastBoy joked. The group, save Raven, had a good laugh and Starfire snapped a photo of photo of Robin and Cyborg in a victory pose…_

"I'm sorry," Robin said quietly as he walked out the door to catch up with the others.

* * *

A chemical factory on the outskirts of town had for some reason been turned on long after-hours. As the products were created, the toxic by-products ran off and were collected into barrels. As the barrels were moved along a conveyor belt, the sludge creature known as Plasmus would grab them and drink them. As he swallowed the sludge, Plasmus' mass began to increase. After a few dozen, he was going on twelve feet tall.

He picked up another barrel and began to drink it, savoring the taste of the toxins. Suddenly, a large blast blew a hole in the bottom of the can, causing all the chemicals to spill onto the floor. Plasmus simply stared at the barrel, gazing stupidly through the hole in the bottom. He looked around the room and saw the four Teen Titans standing in the hole in the wall Plasmus had smashed through.

"That stuff can't be good for you," Robin stated as Starfire charged up another pair of starbolts.

Plasmus crushed the metal barrel in his three fingers and threw it away before letting out an enormous belch.

"Nice one," BeastBoy grinned as he let out a burp of his own, nowhere near the volume of Plasmus'. Plasmus screamed and puffed out his chest, letting streams of sludge stream at the Titans. As the four teens separated, Plasmus continued to shoot blasts of his own body.

"Starfire, let him have it," Robin shouted as he dodged the slime attacks. Starfire gaped as her attack went right through Plasmus and impacted the wall behind him, leaving a twelve-inch diameter hole in its chest.

"Did I let him have too much?" she asked worriedly. Plasmus looked at the hole in his torso and sucked in a huge breath, causing the wound to heal itself.

"I'm thinking not enough," BeastBoy commented as he transformed into a gorilla. His new nine-foot frame allowed him to fight on a more even plane with Plasmus, and he tried to wrestle the mutant to the floor. Plasmus' semi-solid body was able to dodge every strike BeastBoy threw simply by shifting out of the way. He leapt back a dozen feet and extended his left arm, knocking BeastBoy back and grabbing for Starfire, who quickly stared in surprise. Raven flew over and grabbed her teammate out of the way, and the two stared as the arm continued to lengthen over twenty feet, eyes widening as it arced in the air to make another grab.

"Maybe this guy just needs to chill," Robin growled as he threw a bright blue disk at Plasmus' arm. The liquid nitrogen froze the arm into solid ice, spreading a few feet up the arm to the shoulder. Plasmus looked at his arm in surprise before roaring in rage and swinging it at Robin. Robin dodged the strike but covered himself with his cape to avoid the ice shards that flew at him as Plasmus' arm shattered. BeastBoy got to his feet and quickly transformed into a pterodactyl. He took off, aiming for Plasmus as Starfire let loose a barrage of starbolts. Though they did little damage, Starfire tried to distract the monster as BeastBoy flew in. The green dinosaur hovered in front of Plasmus and kicked out rapidly, throwing about eight clawed kicked a second. Plasmus held up his right arm, flattened it out into a shield, and hardened it to a rock-like density.

Plasmus extended his left shoulder and a swarm of tentacles streamed forth, half a dozen aiming for each Titan. Starfire flew back and shot each one with expert aim, dodging the other attacks that were thrown at her. Robin threw a few birdarangs to slice through the feelers while Raven sent waves of dark energy. BeastBoy dodged the attacks as a snake and turned into an ox as he got closer to Plasmus. He cried out in surprise as he simply charged through the slime, doing absolutely no damage to Plasmus whatsoever.

"Azarath… Metrion… _Zinthos_," Raven chanted as she tried to focus her concentration. Her telekinetic energy was infused into a dozen empty barrels that she shot at Plasmus burying them in his chest and forcing him back a few feet. Plasmus roared at her and expunged them from his chest right back at her, forcing her to weave through the air to avoid the counter-attack. Robin lunged at Plasmus and kicked him right in the chest. Unfortunately, his leg sank in all the way to the thigh. He kicked out with his other foot and punched, trying to get free. The only thing he managed to do was get himself further caught in Plasmus' body.

"Ugh… come on, let me go you giant zit!" Robin cried as he struggled to get free. Plasmus looked down at him, as though just realizing Robin was there. He snarled and shot Robin across the room and into BeastBoy. Starfire flew over to make sure the two were all right while Raven, realizing hitting Plasmus with solid objects only gave him more ammunition to use against the team, sent blasts of dark mental energy at him to distract him from the other three Titans.

"Robin! Are you all right?" Starfire asked as she helped her friend to his feet.

"I'm fine… I think," Robin groaned as he spit some of the purple sludge out of his mouth.

BeastBoy was lying on the ground, gagging and quivering as he vomited all over the floor. "And I thought Star's pudding tasted bad," he mumbled as he shakily got to his feet.

The man stood calmly watching the unfolding action before him, having hacked into the security cameras at the factory.

* * *

Disappointing, really," he said boredom in his voice. "With one Titan missing, this is almost too easy," he mused, his left eye gleaming through the orange half of his mask. "I was expecting more of a challenge." He turned over his shoulder, revealing the right side of his mask was black and had no eyehole, and saw Cinderblock behind him with a large yellow cannon slung over his back. "Cinderblock, begin Phase III." Cinderblock grunted in response and began shuffling out of the complex.

Starfire shuddered as she climbed out of a pile of sludge Plasmus had hit her and Raven with. "Ugh, I feel like the underside of a Zornian muck-beetle," she groaned.

"Tell me about it," Raven said as she also climbed out.

"Dude, I am _not_ on the menu," BeastBoy shouted as he ran from Plasmus. Three grappling hooks embedded themselves into Plasmus body and Robin quickly began running circles around Plasmus, wrapping the creature in a high-density cable.

"Maybe the best way to take you down," Robin thought out loud as he began pulling on the ropes, "is to tie you up." BeastBoy charged Plasmus as a rhino and knocked the mutant onto the ground. Starfire grabbed hold of some steel girders nearby and channeled her energy into them, causing them to soften like the way she had done before with Cinderblock. Raven joined in and used her mental powers to bend other girders, trapping Plasmus on the floor, who snarled and roared in protest as his freedom was cut off.

"We did it!" Starfire celebrated as they watched him try to free himself, to no avail.

"Nice work, team" Robin complimented, pleased that they had won. He pulled out his communicator and notified the police that they had finished the job.

"Yeah, for a minute there I didn't think we'd be able to pull it off without, oof" BeastBoy grunted as Raven jabbed him in the ribs, glaring at him. BeastBoy realized what he had been about to say and smiled feebly at her to show he understood.

"We finished just in time, too," Robin said, looking down at his communicator. "That rock thing's been spotted downtown. Come on," he said as the team prepared to leave. The rest of them followed Robin, but all stopped and turned around when they heard a stretching sound and Plasmus quiet down.

What they saw was unbelievable: Plasmus' body was contorting and shifting. As his body began to liquefy, Plasmus' form oozed out of the ties the Titans had put on him and rearranged his body. His head stayed in the same place but rotated until it was upright and supported by six small crab legs. One arm became a snake, while the other morphed into something like a squid. Each leg became a type of worm, one with crab-like pincers for a head and the other with a head more resembling the claws of a scorpion.

"Uh… heads up," BeastBoy said in a stunned tone as the five creatures started to charge. As one, the team ran in the opposite direction and slammed a pair of doors shut to try to keep Plasmus out. As the monsters slammed against the doors, Robin wracked his mind for a strategy. "Four against five: not good odds," BeastBoy said as the door began to groan from the blows being hammered upon it.

"Forget the odds; we need a plan," Robin grunted, though he agreed with BeastBoy. Though the doors remained standing, Plasmus' determination had given him a small victory: a couple of the tentacles from the squid creature it had spawned forced its way through the cracks. Robin knew it would only be a matter of seconds before the doors fell, and he glanced through the crack in the doorway to see all five creatures backing up for a final charge. "Titans, separate!" he commanded as he ran down one corridor. The others followed his lead, each taking a different route. Starfire flew high off the ground while Raven opted to hover lower and BeastBoy changed into a cheetah.

Starfire turned and saw the snake following her. She slowed down and turned around, flying backwards and firing starbolts as fast as she could. The snake was able to weave through them, however, and caught her in its grip. Starfire gasped for breath as the snake tried to squeeze the life out of her, and unleashed a massive blast the caused the creature to explode. Starfire landed on the ground and tried to calm her breathing when a sloshing sound caught her attention. She turned around to see the ooze reforming itself into the snake again. This time, however, it had three heads and a tail. Starfire gathered her strength and prepared to fight a harder creature…

* * *

BeastBoy ran as fast as he could, but somehow the scorpion creature was able to keep up. Its mouth opened and a tongue shot out and wrapped itself around the cheetah, pulling it in closer. BeastBoy quickly turned himself into an ape and ripped the tongue off, but the monster tackled him to the floor. Quickly morphing into a rhinoceros, BeastBoy charged the slime but the creature expanded its jaw wide enough to swallow him whole. Shrinking quickly into a hummingbird and darting out, BeastBoy became a wolf only to be tackled again…

* * *

Raven flew quickly down the hall, sending pieces of machinery flying behind her to try to get the squid to slow down. Unfortunately, nothing worked; the squid simply oozed its way past the projectiles. Raven slowed down and concentrated her energies, unscrewing everything in front of her, timing it so that when she past, the equipment would fall and either hit the squid outright or become an obstacle and at least slow it down. Raven looked back and smiled as she surveyed the pile of wreckage behind her. She hovered in midair and gathered her focus for when the monster broke free, unaware that it had slipped past her when she had slowed down for her attack. Hearing something behind her, Raven gasped in surprise as she saw tentacles heading for her…

* * *

Robin dashed through the corridor, trying to regulate his breathing so he would not get winded, and jumped onto a lower level conveyor belt. He was thrown off balance from the landing and as he got to his feet, he realized he was above vats of the chemical by-products.

"Gee, I'm fighting a monster above a vat of chemicals: how more clichéd could this get," Robin grumbled as the crab creature landed behind him. He pulled out his extendable staff and began a vicious flurry of attacks, jabbing it to try to break it apart. Eventually the staff got caught in the pincers and was snapped in half. Robin simply spun the staff and it extended back to its longer length again. He held it in both hands and swung it like a bat, intending to knock the creature to the floor but it was swatted away. Robin danced backwards, staying on the balls of his feet as he adopted a martial arts stance…

* * *

Starfire backpedaled as she threw blast after blast at the snake, becoming frustrated as it seemed to dodge each and every one. One of the snakeheads seized her wrists and began slamming her into the walls. Starfire grunted as her body impacted solid steel and was beaten by the snake's tail. As she fired her blasts with her free hand, Starfire screamed when she was lifted up and swallowed. Blasting her way free again, Starfire began to despair as the creature reformed itself.

"Oh, I wish Cyborg were here. He would know what this strange creature is and how to defeat it," she said as she now fought a five-headed snake…

* * *

Raven erected a shield to block the tentacles, forgetting that they could go around and still grab her. Ignoring the squeezing in her torso, Raven closed her eyes and tried a psionic attack.

"_This thing is only an extension of the head_," Raven realized. "_I can't kill it as long as the head one is concentrating on it, and he's keeping himself safe. The only way it seems we can beat Plasmus is to knock him out: then he'll become human again_."

Raven tried to free herself, but her body had taken too hard a beating during her mental excursions…

* * *

BeastBoy tried transformation after transformation, but nothing seemed able to stop the monster he was fighting. Whenever he got a good blow in, it would just heal itself, even when he tried squishing it or even cutting it in half. And with every strike it inflicted on him, he lost energy. Head swimming with the fatigue of multiple transformations in such a short time, BeastBoy became a grizzly bear and continued to fight…

* * *

Robin tried every martial arts move he could think of, but nothing seemed to stop this creature. It always became soft whenever he tried to strike, but would harden its body it steel whenever it came time for it to attack. Robin stood between its pincers and tried to throw it off balance but was knocked to the ground. As the crab pincer leapt on top of him, Robin looked over his shoulder to see if there was anything in the surrounding area he could use to his advantage. He saw the end of the conveyor belt and smiled, thinking of a new strategy.

Robin concentrated as hard as he could, knowing he would need perfect timing for his plan to work. As his shoulders left the conveyor belt, he leaned backwards and flipped his body around, flipping the monster over his head and soaring down to the ground below. Robin reached out and tried to grab part of the belt, but the metal bent and threatened to break from the weight. Robin felt the monster grab his boot and began shaking his leg, trying to get free. As he heard a squeal, Robin looked down and saw the creature falling and landing in a vat of chemicals, disintegrating under their toxicity. "_So, the main part can get stronger from toxins, but the other pieces will die_," Robin thought to himself as he pulled himself up. His train of thought was broken when the conveyor belt finally snapped and he was sent plummeting towards the bright green acid. Robin closed his eyes and prepared himself for a gruesome death, having run out of grappling hooks after using them on Plasmus before.

Suddenly, a large hand caught Robin in a strong grip. As he was hauled up and to his feet, Robin gasped for breath, not even looking at his savior, his body slowly calming down after its near-death experience.

"I still got the 'Sonic' if you still got the 'Boom'," a familiar voice said. Robin looked up in disbelief and relief at the voice and saw Cyborg's familiar face. Robin smiled and chuckled.

"You always did have to make a grand entrance," he wheezed as he got to his feet…

* * *

Plasmus' head screeched and laughed as Raven, Starfire and BeastBoy were brought before him and opened his mouth wide, preparing to devour them. It was distracted, however, by two voices shouting in unison.

"Teen Titans, _go_!" Robin and Cyborg cried as they performed their earlier move. They leapt off the wall and this time they executed their attack perfectly. The disk was caught in the blast and accelerated so that it buried itself deep within Plasmus' head before exploding. This attack was too much for the monster to taken, and with an enormous explosion, sludge was blown everywhere. When the smoke cleared, the team looked at where Plasmus had been and saw a skinny man with an army-style crew cut snoring loudly. Moving quietly so as not to wake him up, the team picked him up and kept him restrained until the police showed up with another tube.

As Robin watched them load Plasmus onto a conveyor belt, he felt nervous and looked up at Cyborg awkwardly. "Look, uh," he stammered, not quite sure what the best way to go about apologizing was. "Sorry about…"

"Yeah," Cyborg cut him off, also looking uncomfortable.

"So… are we cool?" Robin asked hesitantly.

Cyborg looked at him for a moment with a stern face before grinning and bringing his fist up. "Frosty."

As the two pounded fists, Starfire was unable to contain her happiness any longer. "You made up; glorious! I wish to initiate a 'group hug.'" She said, smiling.

Raven looked at her for a moment before turning away. "Pass," was all she felt the need to say.

Starfire's smile fell a little bit but disappeared completely at BeastBoy's next words. "Yeah yeah yeah, warm fuzzies all around," he said impatiently, "but we still gotta stop that other thing."

"No we don't," Cyborg said confidently, causing the rest of the team to stare at him in surprise. "Thought I'd bring a present, in case you were still mad," he continued, gesturing behind him. A crane was raising Cinderblock up, the large cannon he had been carrying before wrapped around his torso and stopping him from moving. He grunted and growled as he was hoisted away.

"That thing had a cannon strong enough to punch a hole in carbon steel from a mile away. It was setting one up on the outskirts of town at the mayor's office, but somehow I think it had plans to put up more."

"Thanks, but there is one thing that's still bothering me," Robin confessed. Starfire, BeastBoy, and even Raven all looked at him nervously, knowing how competitive Robin could be and worrying if there was going to be another fight. "Breaking into jail, using Plasmus to distract us, setting up a cannon for a possible assassination," Robin pondered, ticking off the events on his fingers. "The whole plan seems to be a little too smart and complicated for whatever that thing was," he finished.

"I been thinkin' the same thing," Cyborg agreed, as the others breathed a sigh of relief.

"Someone must have been pulling the strings," Robin concluded.

"But who?" Starfire wondered with them.

"And more importantly, why," Raven added.

"Don't know, but one thing's for sure-" BeastBoy said, starting their motto.

"-They're no match for the Teen Titans," Cyborg finished with a grin.

"I heard that!" Robin grinned, giving Cyborg a high-five.

* * *

Meanwhile…

A fist slammed down on the metal armrest, denting the metal as the figure in the dark glared. "Next time my plans _will_ succeed," he seethed, "and the Titans will pay," he vowed, his voice rich with anger and frustration as he narrowed his grey eye menacingly…

* * *

Author's Note: Well, I admit that I followed this episode very closely, but the next one will give you a better feel for what I'm going to want to do. I'll expand the conversations and back stories to flesh it out some. By the way, BeastBoy and Raven will have a lot more interaction in my series than they did in the show. Personally, I thought they set up the pairing very nicely in Season Three, but scrapped it later.

Please review and let me know what you thought of how I am doing. I am open to suggestions on how to improve, such as emphasis on different areas and changes in style. Even opinions are welcomed, even if there are no suggestions. As I said, I ask only that you do not simply rant about how bad (or good) this was: I'm the type of person who likes to know _what_ made it good or bad so I can continue or stop those actions. I hope this chapter finds you all on a good day.


	3. Episode II: Sisters

Writing this is proving to be a lot easier than I thought it would be. After the sixth or so chapter, it might slow down, since I have been using the online episodes and do not have a DVD player. However, I might be able to buy a portable one for a couple hundred dollars and it will take me some time to save up and buy one. That being said, here is chapter 3.

Disclaimer: Nothing has changed; I unfortunately did not receive the title deeds to Teen Titans.

* * *

Chapter 2: Sisters

A bright streak of light tore through the galaxy, dodging asteroids and meteors at nearly impossible speeds. As it scanned the planets it passed, it dismissed each one as inhospitable to the prey it was searching. As it passed by a blue planet, the probe paused and sampled the environmental systems and habitats. Deeming the planet suitable for life, it decided to try to find its prey there. As it entered the atmosphere, it immediately detected signs of the prey. Scents and energy patterns typical and indicative of its quarry filled the air and the probe quickly zeroed in on the source. The machine was purple with black stripes, shaped like a missile with four long tentacles trailing behind it. Though the trail was difficult to follow, and even disappeared a time or two, the probe did not stop its search…

* * *

"_Please_ remind me why I'm here," Raven groaned as she waited on line with Cyborg and Beast Boy.

"Because Starfire's never been to a carnival," Cyborg reminded her.

"Yeah, and when I asked you said no one's ever won anything for you at one," Beast Boy grinned. "So I'm here to end that."

"Oh friends, thank you so much for agreeing to come with me to this festive celebration," Starfire gushed as she looked around like a two year old in a candy shop.

"No problem Star," Robin said as he leaned against a wall. "Besides, we needed to get out of that tower for a while."

"Coming from the guy who works us harder than a drill sergeant," Beast Boy grumbled loud enough only for Raven to hear. The corner of her mouth twitched but other than that, her face remained impassive.

"Come Robin, let us go on the coaster that rolls first; I want to know what that is like," the enthusiastic alien girl cried as she dragged her friend away.

"Uh… guess we'll just hang out by ourselves," Cyborg muttered as he watched the two leave.

"Um, Starfire, don't be disappointed if this ride isn't that great," Robin whispered to her as they were harnessed into place.

"Oh, I shall not be. This ride looks most antiquated," Starfire commented as she looked around at the wooden tracks.

"Yeah, it's supposed to be one of the oldest original coasters around," Robin said as they began to go up the chain lift.

"I wonder what this will feel-" Starfire began before they went over the edge and plummeted down. The rest of her sentence was drowned out in a scream of joy as she lifted her hands up and closed her eyes. Robin did the same as the ride jerked them to the left and right, up and down, and occasionally upside-down for a few seconds. "This is so much fun," Starfire shouted to him as she grinned.

"_How can this be fun_?" Robin wondered to himself. "_She can do fancier tricks flying that this coaster could ever do. Maybe its because she's strapped to a seat_," he thought. Robin stopped thinking as the car went up and over another chain lift and his stomach jumped into his throat. The two Titans were thrown to their left at a sharp clockwise turn and let out identical shouts of excitement.

* * *

"So, where do you guys want to go?" Cyborg asked after watching Robin and Starfire get on the roller coaster.

"Anywhere: the entire park looks _soooo_ inviting," Raven replied sarcastically.

Cyborg rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by Beast Boy. "Let's hit the arcade: I wanna win some tickets," he grinned. "And I bet that I could whip you at that new Soul Calibur game."

"You're on, little man," Cyborg taunted. "But if I whip you, then you get my week of dish duty."

"Done. But when I win, you have to do my laundry."

"Oh that's low," Cyborg groaned.

"Not to mention disgusting," Raven muttered.

"Still confident?" Beast Boy challenged as they reached the machine.

"You know it," Cyborg retorted as he started up and selected Nightmare.

"Ha, I knew you'd pick him. Let's see how he deals with this guy," Beast Boy grinned.

"'The Apprentice'? Who's that?"

"You'll see," Beast Boy grinned as he started the round and gave Cyborg a thorough trouncing.

"No fair man: how am I supposed to land a hit on you if all you do is jump around and use projectile attacks?"

"That's not my problem," Beast Boy returned. Raven watched the duo taunt each other with a bland expression and waited for Beast Boy to win. She could tell from his confident mood that he had been practicing at this specific game to beat Cyborg.

"Hey Raven, I thought you might want to try a game, so here," Beast Boy said with a large smile on his face as he handed her a couple of tokens.

"Thanks, I can undo all the hours of meditation and studying I've done this week in a few minutes by rotting my mind," she replied sarcastically. Beast Boy's smiled faltered but did not fall as he went over to a game that had something to do with timing.

* * *

"Robin, why did they create an entire house filled with mirrors? Only one is enough, unless you are getting new outfits. Is this a type of mall," she asked hopefully.

"No Starfire," Robin said, smiling at her logic. "Its… you'll see for yourself," he said, unable to think of a way to explain it. Starfire followed Robin in, her bright eyes looking around curiously.

"It is… a house filled with mirrors," she said in a disappointed tone of voice. She looked around and saw dozens of Starfires mimicking her actions.

"Yeah, the trick is to find your way out," Robin smiled as they walked through the corridors, often bumping into their reflections. Robin almost laughed at the look on Starfire's face; she was bewildered and animated simultaneously. "And this is the 'wild mirror' section," he added as they reached a room filled with bent and distorted mirrors. Starfire giggled as she looked at her appearance in each one. One made her look about ten feet tall, and she saw Robin in another one that made him look short. They laughed as they walked through the hall, their reflections becoming bigger and smaller, with disproportionate heads and feet and hands. Robin struck a heroic pose in a mirror that puffed out his chest while Starfire wrapped her hands around her head in one that gave a new definition to the phrase "fat head."

"Splendid! I had no idea that reflective glass could be the cause of so much merriment and joy,"

* * *

"Dude, I cannot believe you spent all my tickets on a video game," Beast Boy griped as the trio left the arcade.

"Dude, how could you say that? This isn't just any game. This is the new SithNinja 2.0! What could be better? What else were you gonna buy with ten thousand tickets" he asked, getting only a grumble from Beast Boy in response.

"Uh, Raven, thanks for not complaining about us taking so long in there," Beast Boy said as he walked up to the girl.

She spared him a glance before responding, "It's not like anything was going to pull you away from that game anyway. Even I know a lost cause when I see one."

"Yeah, but that tech dude's face was priceless. I still can't believe you got a perfect score on your third try BB," Cyborg said. "So, what do you guys feel like doing now," he asked as they walked around.

"Hey Raven, you wanna check out the haunted house?" Beast Boy asked as he posed in front of a sign that was nailed in front of a decrepit house.

"I suppose it can't be worse than those 'Scary Movie' series," she responded as she walked through the doors, triggering a peal of spooky laughter. Beast Boy and Cyborg followed after her but couldn't find her, due to the inside of the house being like a maze.

"Dude, which way did she go?"

"I dunno," Cyborg responded. They looked down two corridors. "You take that one," he suggested, pointing to the more forbidding-looking one.

Beast Boy scoffed and walked down boldly, affirming that nothing in the house could scare him. Seconds later, he screamed and changed into a cat as a ghost dropped down from the ceiling. He could have sworn he heard a chuckle as he continued his search for Raven. He ran into Cyborg twice more as they searched the house, enjoying the pranks and tricks the house would pull. Six minutes later, they found Raven wandering down a corridor. "Hey Raven," Beast Boy as he ran up to her, stopping short when he ran into an invisible wall that had been there entire time.

Raven turned around just in time to see Beast Boy's face get flattened and smirked. "I've had enough of this place," she declared as she walked through the wall and opening a portal to the outside. "It was cheesy, but not terrible," she confessed as they emerged.

"Glad it wasn't terrible for you," Cyborg said, chortling. "BB here almost had an accident when he turned that corner and the guy in the armor suit took a swipe at him," he snitched, causing the green changeling to splutter and complain under his breath.

* * *

"Robin, why are we in boats?" Starfire asked as they boarded small one-man vehicles and were released into lake.

"They're called 'bumper boats'. You just ram into other people," Robin said as he took off in his boats and slammed into a boy around thirteen.

"But will I not sink his vehicle?"

"No Starfire, it's just for fun," Robin said as he laughed and zoomed around. Starfire began to chase him and tried to rear-end him, but Robin's boat was too nimble for her and he dodged the attack, causing her to ram another innocent bystander. Robin chuckled before almost being capsized by the boy he had rammed before. Robin backed up only to get smashed by Starfire. Laughing, Robin tried to avoid the two and wound up making them crash into each other. Robin crashed into Starfire and made her hit the teenager again. Robin and Starfire started an obstacle course around the lake, weaving in and out of other people and accidents. Dripping from the waves the boats had made and laughing, the pair emerged from the ride with pink faces from the wind.

* * *

"Come on Raven, just try," Beast Boy begged as he held the orange ball in front of her. Raven sighed, took the basketball from Beast Boy, and aimed at the hoop. She threw it and frowned when it missed the hoop completely.

"Nice try Raven, but this is how you shoot," Beast Boy said as he tossed his shot. It hit the backboard- too hard- and fell off the rim.

"Man, you throw like a girl," Cyborg laughed as he threw a ball through a hoop flawlessly.

"No fair, Cyborg, you can use your tech to never miss."

"Don't need to, shrimp, its just part of being a perfect athlete," Cyborg bragged as he did it three more times.

"Bet you can't do it with your eyes closed," Raven said as she stared at him impassively.

"Not only can I get it in with my eyes closed, I can do it tossing it over my head," Cyborg affirmed.

"How much?"

"If you can't… you have to go three days eating the food Beast Boy cooks."

Cyborg looked at her in disbelief. "I didn't know you did evil Raven. If I'm gonna do that, then I gotta make you do something as bad. How about… you have to wear pink for a week. Bright pink. With frills. And bows," he said with an evil grin. Raven gulped: she detested the color pink.

"Deal," she said nervously as she shook Cyborg's hand. The android aimed at the hoop before closing his eye and turning around. He motioned to throw three times before letting the ball go. It soared through the air and hit the backboard before rolling around the rim. As it neared its second spin, Raven frowned and narrowed her eyes. The ball teetered for a moment before falling.

On the outside of the hoop.

Cyborg's face dropped in disbelief. As Beast Boy roared with laughter and began plotting Cyborg's next meal aloud, a suspicion dawned on Cyborg. "You," he said accusingly to Raven. "You did that. You made me lose," he charged.

"Did not," Raven denied. "Guess its just part of being a _near­_-perfect athlete," she said, emphasizing the third to last word. Cyborg and Beast Boy stared blankly after her as she left them.

"Did she just… crack a joke?" Beast Boy asked in a wondrous voice.

"Yeah, I think she did," Cyborg responded in a stunned tone.

* * *

"Step right up, step right up and test your strength," a runner announced. "You, sir," he said, grabbing Robin and dragging him to a long pipe with a bell on the top. "Want to try your luck? Ring the bell and win a prize for your pretty girl," he said with a grin. "Of course, if you don't think you can…" he continued, seeing Robin's face. At his last comment, Robin frowned and had a determined look on his face. The attractor smirked- he could tell which guys could never back down and would try to prove themselves.

"Robin, it is unnecessary to make the bell ring. We can do it from our home by pushing the one at the door," Starfire whispered, not liking the way the pitcher had manipulated Robin.

"No, I can do this Star," Robin whispered back as he took out a dollar and paid the man. He picked up the fifty-pound hammer with one hand and hefted it. "This is it?" he asked in a smart-aleck tone of voice. "This'll be easier than I thought," Robin declared, making the pitcher's face fall. Robin brought the hammer behind his back and smashed the lever as hard as he could, causing the peg to soar up and strike the bell. The man's face fell as he gave Robin his choice of certain prizes. Robin selected a pink and purple gorilla roughly the size of his fist before an idea dawned on him.

"I'll make you a bet. This was so easy, I bet my friend here could do it with one hand," Robin taunted, causing the man's face to go red.

"I can't bet you any money," he said.

"That's fine," Robin said casually. "If she can, you can have this small one back and she gets to choose one of the bigger ones."

"And if she can't?"

Robin shrugged. "Then you'll get a hundred bucks." The man considered the offer. That was more than he made in an hour, and he would be able to pocket it.

"Deal. Here ya go, little lady," he said to Starfire, handing her the hammer. She looked slightly confused, but had caught on to the general idea.

"Just ring the bell?" she asked for clarification. Robin nodded and smirked at the man. Starfire smashed the hammer into the lever so hard that the peg zoomed up and cracked the bell. The man's jaw dropped and he simply stared as Robin exchanged the tiny gorilla for one roughly the size of Starfire herself. As the duo left, Starfire happily clutching her prize, Robin tossed a final smirk back at the man, who glowered and sulked.

* * *

Cyborg trailed Beast Boy and Raven, who walking several feet apart. Grumbling about the bets he had lost, Cyborg glowered at the pair and began plotting revenge. He saw a ride that had just opened up and thought maybe it would cheer him up.

"Yo, I say we go on this," he called to the two. Beast Boy looked at the ride with interest while Raven wrinkled up her nose.

"I don't want to go," she said as she waited by the gate. "You two go."

"But it's built for three," Cyborg complained as he looked at her sadly. "Come on Raven, you gotta do this for me."

"Why?"

"Consider I have to eat Beast Boy's tofu stuff for three days _and_ do his laundry."

"That does suck pretty bad," Raven agreed, smirking at Beast Boy's expression as she joined the line with them.

As they neared the start of the ride, a thought occurred to Beast Boy "Um, can you even go on this ride," he asked Cyborg as the three of them got into a coaster car shaped like a log floating in a river.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Um, because you're a machine… and, uh-"

"Electricity and water don mix very well," Raven said dryly.

"I'm waterproof," Cyborg declared as they go to the entrance. Unable to decide on who would sit where (Raven opting for the back and Beast Boy and Cyborg arguing over who got to sit in the front) they played Rock-Paper-Scissors to see. To her disbelief, and not to her liking, Raven won the chance to go up front.

"Aww man, Raven, I can't believe your luck today," Beast Boy whined as he got the back.

"Oh yes, lucky me," Raven grumbled as she got in, knowing she would get sopping wet.

The android and shape shifter whooped for joy as they rounded turns and climbed steadily higher.

"This is it y'all," Cyborg shouted as they reached the apex of the ride. As they rushed down, Raven closed her eyes as a spray of water drenched her. Cyborg and Beast Boy laughed as they got off the ride and saw the hood drooping and her hair plastered to her face. Raven blushed as he clothes stuck to her skin and dried herself off with her powers before gesturing to the ride and causing a jet of water to shoot at the boys, soaking them in return.

* * *

Rockets flew into the air and exploded, creating a dazzling effect on the carnival below. Robin and Starfire sat on the top section of the Ferris Wheel to watch the fireworks (being the leader of the local superhero team came with a few bribing perks).

Starfire let out a sigh of wonder and amazement. "Beautiful," she sighed as she leaned forward to watch the light show. "Tell me again what they are called," she said as she sat back.

"Fireworks," Robin said as he relaxed against the chair.

"On my planet, such explosions would mean the Gordanians were attacking. You are certain Earth is not under attack," she asked, suddenly concerned.

"Positive," Robin reassured her as he reached down and brought up a pink fluffy wad of cotton candy on a cone. He took a piece and ate it before offering some to her.

"The last time I ate a bowl of cotton, it was white," Starfire said with a reluctant look on her face, "and it did not taste very-"

"This is different," Robin said as he took another piece. Starfire, willing to try everything at least once, took a piece and popped it in her mouth. She smiled at the sweetness and let out a gasp as the candy melted in her mouth.

"It vanished," she said in a surprised intonation.

"Yeah, it'll do that sometimes," Robin chuckled as he watched the amazing display of light and sound before them.

Starfire leaned back and relaxed her shoulders, letting a sigh of contentment come out of her. "When I first came to this planet, I did not think I would ever fit in," she confessed. "Earth was full of strange things. But now I see-" The rest of her sentence was drowned out by an enormous explosion.

"Here comes the finale," Robin said excitedly as he leaned forward to watch as the fireworks doubled in intensity. Starfire kept an eye on the fantastic display but kept Robin in her peripheral vision. Robin called out enthusiastically as the fireworks began to die down. "Amazing" he said, reclining as the Ferris Wheel creaked to life and began to bring them back down.

Starfire's eye twinkled in the night sky as she looked at Robin, who was oblivious to her gaze. "Earth is full of amazing things too," she whispered to herself. A second later, she was rudely yanked from her seat by the flying pod, two of its tentacles wrapped around her body. She let out a scream of surprise as Robin sat stunned.

"_Starfire_!" he yelled as he saw her be taken away. A moment later, he sprang into action and jumped out of his seat, using the steel bars of the Ferris Wheel as gymnast bars to swing himself to the ground.

* * *

Starfire struggled against the machine that was holding her. She grabbed at the tentacles, but they were too thick to get her hands around and too slippery to get a grip on. Her eyes glowed green as she wriggled her body to get out of the grip, but the tentacles were covered in suction cups that made escape quite difficult.

"Wherever you are taking me, I do not wish to go," she yelled as she leveled a starbolt at the machine and fired. The result was shocking: Starfire felt her own energy being channeled through the machine and channeled back to her. The shock, however, did weaken the creature's grip for a moment, and Starfire used the opportunity to free herself and start flying as fast as she could back to the land where her friends were. She turned and looked behind her to see the machine still giving chase.

* * *

"I'm not leaving until I get the jumbo prize," Beast Boy snapped stubbornly as Cyborg tried to drag him away from the hoop and bottle game over towards a concessions stand.

"Dude, give it up: you're not going to get it," Cyborg said, his stomach growling.

"Wanna bet," Beast Boy grinned as he slapped his last dollar on the table.

"Yeah. I bet… uh actually, no, I don't want to bet," Cyborg said as he remembered the last few times he had tried gambling. Beast Boy turned and concentrated before letting the ring go with a flick of the wrist. It hooked itself around the bottle in the direct center and Beast Boy whooped in joy as Cyborg breathed in relief at his wise decision not to make another bet. He gave Beast Boy a high-five at his victory and Beast Boy selected his prize.

"Told ya I'd win you a prize," he said, pushing the doll into Raven's hands.

"A giant bright blue dragon. I must be the luckiest girl in the world," Raven said sardonically as she held the prize.

"Titans, trouble," Robin said as he landed on the ground. This simple sentence dispersed the carefree mood as the others prepared for battle.

"Where's Starfire?" Cyborg asked as he ran a quick systems check on his body to make sure he was fully functioning.

"That's the trouble," Robin said mysteriously as he pointed towards the docks. The others followed him as he took off, Raven moving the dragon back up onto the prize racks before running after the group. As the group neared the edge of the docks, they saw Starfire whizzing towards them, the purple machine still chasing her. Starfire glanced behind her and saw the mechanism try to grab her. She dodged by doing a somersault in the air and sent a pair of starbolts at it. The shape of the apparatus seemed to be built to withstand the type of attacks Starfire was capable of unleashing, however, and the energy was dispersed harmlessly to the sides.

"No more chasing me now please," Starfire pleaded as she weaved back and forth to try to throw the machine off balance. Unfortunately, it seemed to have an advanced tracking system and was not distracted by such tactics. The rest of the Teen Titans watched as she flew past them, followed by her adversary.

"Who's her new best friend?" Beast Boy asked as he waited for Starfire to circle back towards them.

"Don't know, but I can't wait to meet him," Robin said as he punched one fist into his palm and cracked his neck.

Starfire had given up trying to lose the machine in the carnival and turned back towards her friends. She put on a huge burst of speed and landed on the ground behind everyone else to catch her breath. As the pod zoomed towards her, Beast Boy leap at it, morphing into a crocodile. As his powerful jaws snapped down, the armored machine dodged to the left, only to smash into a hot dog stand that Raven had sent careening at it.  
Cyborg took advantage of the stunned contraption and grabbed it by the tentacles, his muscles groaning from the strain. "Don't know what you did to make this thing mad, Star," he said, struggling to keep a grip, "but it couldn't hurt to apologize."

"I am… sorry?" Starfire said hesitantly as she watched the machine begin to wiggle out of Cyborg's grip. Robin threw a bird-a-rang at the probe, which embedded itself in the front of the machine, but did nothing to slow it down. As it shook out of Cyborg's grip, Beast Boy caught up with it in the form of an ape and smashed his fist into it, knocking it off course. Cyborg rammed it with his shoulder and sent it flying off in another direction, and Robin leapt into the air and smashed it over the top of the hull with his bo-staff.

The pod began to slow down; its armored hull battered after so many attacks, and flew off course into the ocean. As it sank with a splash, Beast Boy looked over the rail for any signs of movement on its part before turning back to his comrades. "So… did we just win?" he asked, surprised it had been that easy.

As if in response to his question, the pod came bursting up through the wooden planks before looping down at Starfire. Cyborg fired his Sonic Cannon at the machine while Beast Boy morphed into a pterodactyl and picked Robin up. Raven sent blasts of mental energy at the machine and Starfire joined in with her starbolts.

Robin and Beast Boy landed on the hull of the machine and looked for a way to shut it down while hanging on for dear life.

"I don't see an 'off' switch anywhere," Beast Boy said before turning into an octopus to keep himself and Robin stabilized as they went on a ride more harrowing than anything they had experienced at the carnival.

"I guess that means I'll just have to make one," Robin responded as he flexed his wrists. The green material of his gloves shimmered before turning a metallic sheen, and Robin plunged his fist into the curved hull of the machine before pulling out random wires and parts. As the machine began to sputter and smoke, the duo leapt off and flew towards the ground, Robin holding onto Beast Boy's feet.

The team watched as the machine flew up into the night sky and detonated, its explosion lost among the last of the fireworks, which were finally beginning to die down. "Whatever that thing was, it can't hurt you now," Robin said to Starfire as he smiled.

Starfire refused to be caught up in the team's happiness. Only one thing was on her mind, and now she gave voice to her thoughts; "but… why did it wish to harm me at all."

"Dunno, but I managed to get a piece of the thing when I was holding it," Cyborg said, holding up a shard of black metal. "I'll take it home and analyze it, see if I can figure out where it came from." As the group headed back home, Beast Boy stopped by the game he had been playing before and reclaimed his prize for Raven.

* * *

"Friends, I shall share with you my appreciation for my rescue by reciting for you the Poem of Gratitude. All 6,000 verses!" Starfire exulted as the group entered the main room. Unaware of her teammates behind her completely stunned, Starfire continued walking, her eyes closed and humming to herself to get the rhythm of the song in her mind.

"I see you haven't changed one bit," a voice rang out. The team behind Starfire instantly readied for battle, since nothing was supposed to have been able to get through their security system, but Starfire turned towards the source of the voice and gasped. A light flicked on, revealing a woman who could have been Starfire's twin, right down to the half-inch long eyebrows, save that she had black hair and purple eyes. Also, her clothes, while in the same style as Starfire's, were black, with a metal weave underneath instead of skin showing. "When we were little, _I_ was always the one rescuing Starfire," she said smiling.

Starfire screamed and zoomed towards the unknown girl, grabbing her into what sounded like a bone-crushing hug. "Sister," Starfire screamed in joy, spinning in circles as she hugged her sibling.

"Brought you a present," she said as Starfire released her, dangling what appeared to be a large emerald from her hand. Starfire gasped as she recognized the distinctive mineral formation patterns.

"A… a Centari moon diamond?" she asked breathlessly, soaking up the beauty of the gem and the way it absorbed the light. "Where did you get-"

"On the Centari moons, of course," he sister giggled as she put it around her younger sibling's neck.

"Oh look, it matches your eyes," she said happily, as she looked at the effect it had. Starfire just looked at herself in the mirror for a minute, blushing, before remembering her teammates were still behind her.

"You must meet my friends," she said as she grabbed her sister by the hand and dragging her to the back of the room. "I wish for you all to meet my big sister-"

"Blackfire," the aforementioned sister said, stepping forward to look at the Titans. "And since Starfire's told me all about you in her transmissions, let me guess. You must be Cyborg, right?"

"Pleased to meet you little lady," the android grinned offering his hand. Blackfire gripped his hand and squeezed, buckling the outer armor. "Little lady, big handshake," Cyborg laughed as he flexed his hand and popped the metal back into place, "well alright."

"You're Raven," Blackfire stated rather than asked as she locked eyes with the brooding pale girl. She stared at the telepath for a moment before commenting, "I like that gemstone on your Ajna-chakra."

Raven's eyes flew up and glared at her forehead for a moment before coming down to look at Blackfire, surprised. "You know about chakra?"

"I got _way_ into meditation on Altara Prime," she said by means of explanation. "Beast Boy, what's up?" she smiled at the green changeling.

"Nothin' but the ceiling baby," he cracked, drawing a chuckle out of Blackfire.

"Good one," she complimented as she moved on to Robin.

"See, she thinks I'm funny," he whispered to Raven, playfully nudging her in the ribs.

"Statistically, I suppose _someone_ has to," she replied dryly, causing the green teen to grumble to himself.

"And you must be Robin," Blackfire said as she came to the leader of the group. "Oh I am loving this cape," she gushed as she held it up and let it slip through her fingers. "It's positively luscious."

Robin looked a little embarrassed to have his equipment referred to in such a way, but smiled nonetheless. "Thanks. It's a high-density polymerized titanium interlaced with small shreds of carbon steel and diamond. Very protective for fire and other energy attacks, and if you run an electric current through it, it becomes ten times harder then carbon steel, but has a weave like Kevlar to stop projectiles," he explained.

"Fascinating," Blackfire said, her face showing that she had actually understood Robin and was not covering. She leaned in until their noses were only a couple of inches apart, causing Starfire's smile to become frozen as she watched her sibling. "And this mask makes you very mysterious," Blackfire continued, leaning in closer.

"So, beloved sister," Starfire said, forcibly inserting herself between the two. "What brings you to Earth?"

"I was in the quadrant," she answered with a smile as she sauntered back towards the couch and lying down. "Besides, I needed a rest; nearly got sucked into a black hole on my way here," she said nonchalantly. Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy seemed to teleport to where Blackfire was, their faces eager.

"A black hole?" Robin said interested.

"No way," Cyborg said in a skeptical tone, thinking Blackfire was making up the story.

"Cool," was all Beast Boy could say.

Starfire and Raven were left alone by the kitchen counter, the latter shaking her head, and muttering "Boys."

"Okay, so I'm cruising through the Draconis Nebula," Blackfire began, "when all of a sudden-"

"Sister, that nebula is notorious for being full of black holes. You know travel there is forbidden," Starfire interrupted, shocked that her sister would so casually flaunt such practical rules.

Blackfire looked back at her sister with a crooked grin and shrugged. "Most fun things in life are," she retorted. "Now, be a sweetie and get me one of those 'sodas' I've heard so much about," she said before continuing her story. Raven leaned back and smirked, eager to see how the argument would go, but to her surprise, Starfire closed her mouth after a moment and walked dejectedly over to the refrigerator.

"I see you have not changed either," she muttered to herself as she grabbed a soda and walked over to Blackfire.

* * *

Probes identical to the one the Titans had destroyed soared back to a ship, inserting themselves into their reception tubes. The first three tubes glowed green as their probe was received, but the last one began to flash red, its probe not returning at its scheduled time. A hulking figure encased in red bulky armor smashed his hand down on a screen.

"Our target was not located," he growled angrily. "These things are useless, the drones have failed," he seethed.

"Have they?" an older, calmer voice asked as he put a hand on the younger cadet's shoulder. He pushed a button to see where the last one had been sent and a picture of Earth came up. "The one that probed Earth did not return," he noticed. "I have told you that you will need patience and a cool head to go up the ranks here," he admonished slightly. "Think. If the probe was only programmed to apprehend the girl, and it did not return…" he began, encouraging the younger one to sort the puzzle out.

"Then that is where the girl is," he deduced, earning a nod from his superior. "Okay then, prepare for teleportation. Opt for thirty light seconds outside of Earth's atmosphere. We shouldn't attract any attention from their technology at that range," he ordered, causing the crew to snap to attention and follow orders.

* * *

"Sister?" Starfire asked as she wandered through the hallways of the T-tower two days later. "Sister," she called again, wondering where Blackfire had gone. She entered the living room and saw Cyborg and Beast Boy playing video games yet again. She leaned forward on the couch and smiled at the racing game they were engaged in.

"You wanna pass me," Cyborg taunted as he drifted around in front of Beast Boy's car, "but you can't pass me, you can't pass- hey, you passed me," he said, shocked as Beast Boy's car got ahead in a tight turn.

"Tight in the turn, jets, and nitro," Beast Boy bragged as he leapt off the couch and did a victory spin before sitting back down and continuing to mash his controller.

"Tell me, have either of you seen my sister?"

"Blazin'-B?" Beast Boy asked as he narrowed his eyes and continued to concentrate on his game. "She was here just a second ago," he said turning to face Starfire. This was the momentary distraction Cyborg needed, and he quickly did a move that put him back in the lead. "Dunno where she took off to though," Beast Boy told Starfire before turning back to the screen. His face fell as Cyborg's car smashed into his and sent it zigzagging off the screen.

"Oh yeah, back in the lead," Cyborg laughed as he left Beast Boy behind.

"What fun," Starfire said, smiling at her friends. "May I join in your game?"

"Sorry Star; winner plays Blackfire," Cyborg said as he passed the lap line.

"Yeah, she rules at this game," Beast Boy said, a sappy smile coming over his face.

"I see…" Starfire said before leaving the duo alone and began walking again through the corridors. As she passed Raven's room, she wondered whether or not Blackfire might be in there discussing meditation techniques. She softly knocked on the door and waited a few seconds before the door opened a few inches and half of Raven's hooded head emerged. "Is my sister in there with you?" Starfire asked.

"No," Raven said shortly before going to close the door.

"Oh, Starfire said, leaning in to prevent Raven from leaving. Might you wish to do the 'hanging out' with me? We could visit your favorite depressing café," she offered, hoping the teen would be willing to spend some time with Starfire.

"Already been," Raven said, shooting down Starfire's hopes. "It was open mike last night and Blackfire wanted to share," she elaborated. "Your sister's poetry is surprisingly dark," Raven said, meaning it as a compliment. Starfire's eyes dropped to the floor and mumbled something as she continued on her way. Raven watched Starfire leave for a moment before closing her door and going back inside.

Starfire continued walking around before she decided to try to find Robin. The leader of the Teen Titans was usually very good at talking to Starfire and helping her sort out her problems. "Perhaps we may have one of our late night discussions," Starfire said to herself as she began to float down the hallway towards the gym. As she rounded the corner, she saw two silhouettes that were easily recognizable to her. Starfire watched, frozen in place as she saw Blackfire bring Robin into a tight embrace.

"That's perfect, Robin," Blackfire said softly as Starfire's mind unfroze and she slowly walked up to the gym, afraid of what she might find. "Hold me just like that, and…" Blackfire let out a loud yell as Starfire entered the room and Starfire saw Robin go flying across the room and crash into a padded wall.

"How… how did you do that?" Robin asked, panting for breath.

"Learned that from a Ven-Zo master on Tyrus Three," Blackfire bragged as she helped Robin to his feet.

"Hello Robin and, my sister," Starfire said, giving a warm smile to the former but only able to conjure up a smaller one for her sibling as she walked in. "Am I interrupting anything?"

"Not at all," Robin said and rubbed his head. "Blackfire was just teaching me some alien martial arts. How come you never showed me these cool moves?" he asked curiously. Starfire closed her mouth and looked down at the floor, a blush beginning on her face.

"Probably because she doesn't know them," Blackfire said as Starfire sank from out of the air down to the ground. "I always was the better fighter," she bragged proudly. Slipping one arm around his shoulder and rubbing his upper arm, Blackfire began to lead Robin back towards the sparring ring.

"Come on, I'll show you the move I once used to take down a rampaging orthax," she said, making Starfire feel increasingly inadequate. Realizing that Robin and her were not going to have one of their talks tonight, Starfire turned and went to her room. The cheerful colors did nothing to pep up her mood, and Starfire sank into an uneasy sleep.

When she woke up in the morning, Starfire felt slightly better and decided to try to talk to Robin again. She wandered into the kitchen, looking for everyone, but could only find Cyborg, who was just finishing a plate of tofu eggs. "Don't ask," he groaned when he saw the look on Starfire's face. "Long story short, I lost two bets and now Beast Boy and Raven are making me suffer for it. You looking for someone?"

"Yes, I am wondering where Robin is. He is usually in here now eating breakfast, and I am eager to have a discussion with him."

"Good luck. That boy is still sleeping; he was training last night until at least three in the morning. He's out cold in his room."

"Oh," was all Starfire could say. She felt conflicted. One the one hand, she was happy that Robin was training and getting stronger, but bitter that it came at the sacrifice of spending time with her. And the fact that her sister was involved complicated the matter even more. "What are you going to do today? May we do the 'hanging out' and perhaps play games or a sport?"

"Sorry Star; I have some work to do today. I need to run a full diagnostic scan on the T-Tower and Blackfire was gonna take a look at my Sonic Cannon and see if any alien technology could boost the power."

"Oh," Starfire said again. "Perhaps I could be of assistance?"

Cyborg winced and scratched the back of his head nervously. "Well, the Tower is something that only I can do, since it's hooked up to my system, and Blackfire's actually in my room already getting everything ready. She said she's taken advanced cybernetics at a space research facility, so I figured it would safe for her to help me. Sorry Star, I don't mean that you're not smart, it's just-"

"She is more qualified to be in a position to be of assistance to you than I am," Starfire said, painting a smile on her face. "It is all right, I am fine with it. I shall see you later perhaps?" she asked as Cyborg got up and stretched.

"Definitely," Cyborg said confidently. "I'll warm up with Beast Boy and Blackfire before playing you tonight," he grinned, causing Starfire to smile faintly. After sitting around for a few minutes, Starfire decided to go up onto the roof to try to relax and calm her mind.

As the sun's rays hit her face, Starfire felt her spirits rise. Something about the sun forbade her from being in a bad mood. She sat back on a sunning chair and relaxed, looking out over the tower at the ocean. Her eyes fluttered as she stared at the beautiful sight and they opened to see the sun in a completely different position than last time. Starfire jumped up and realized that she had fallen asleep- for a few hours judging by the sun.

She flew downstairs to see where her teammates were but as far as she could tell, the T-Tower was empty. Robin was apparently still sleeping, and Cyborg had left her a note on the TV.

"_Star,_  
_That surgery that Blackfire and I did really took it out of me. I'm in_  
_my room recharging for the rest of the day, but I'll definitely chill with_  
_you tomorrow._  
_Cy_"

Starfire's mind clouded with loneliness again, and she decided to go to the gym. She supposed doing some exercises would cheer her up and take her mind off her sister. Starfire loved Blackfire, but she knew her sister had a habit of becoming overbearing.

"Good Raven, but try to use less energy stabilizing yourself and more keeping yourself on the needle," she heard her sister say. Starfire entered the gym and saw Raven, Blackfire, and Beast Boy in the gym already. The changeling was lifting weights in the corner while the telepathic teen was hovering upside-down above a needle. Her pointer finger was resting on the needle and a ball of telepathic energy was the only thing keeping her up. Curiously, while Raven's hair and hood had fallen down, her cloak remained upward, resisting the fall of gravity.

"I, uh, don't feel that confident yet Blackfire," Raven said, her face turning red from being upside-down. She grimaced as the wear of focusing so much energy into her finger began to take its toll on her and after taking a few breaths, she managed to stabilize herself again. "What exactly will this do for me?"

"I've noticed that whenever you use an attack, you use your whole hand, giving you an increase in blunt force but taking away your precision and penetration. Channeling through a finger will let you become more precise, useful in infiltration or piercing armor," Blackfire explained. "Hey, baby sister," she said, turning around and seeing Starfire. "How are you?"

"I am fine sister, though I have not had much time for your companionship," Starfire confessed.

"I know, but I've just been getting to know your friends. I have to say, you really chose well when you picked Earth. The people here are so much fun, and your friends are great to hang out with."

"Thank you," Starfire muttered. "What are you doing now?"

"Well, I think the exercises I've given Raven will keep her occupied for a couple of hours," Blackfire said, looking over at the girl, who only nodded in response. "But Beast Boy managed to get tickets to a concert, and he asked if I wanted to come. Never been to an Earth concert, so I figured 'why not'."

"Ready Blazin'-B?" Beast Boy asked as he put the weights down.

"You know it, BB" Blackfire smiled as they left the room. As they exited, Raven grunted and gasped for breath, the training Blackfire had set for her draining her energy. Her cloak fell down around her head and Starfire saw that Raven was not going to be up to having any conversations. She left the gym and went back into the kitchen. As a pleasant surprise, Starfire saw Robin slumped at the table, eating a steak and wincing with almost every movement.

"Robin, are you all right?" She got only a groan as a response.

"Star, your sister almost worked me to death. I slept all day, and I think I'm going back to bed after this. Sorry that I haven't talked to you lately, but I'll have to catch up tomorrow; I'm just too wiped out now," Robin said as he patted her on the shoulder. Starfire gave him a sympathetic smile and watched as he left the room before realizing that she was all alone. Sighing, Starfire felt a flash of bitterness and jealousy towards her sister before guiltily pushing it away. Her sister was only happy to be with her again, and was meeting her friends. She went to her room and lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling. She wandered towards her closet and decided to sort through all her belongings and organize them for a while. A few hours later, Starfire had collapsed in her closet and was snoring while holding a boot.

A loud crash startled Starfire awake in the morning and she quickly rose into the air, charging her starbolts and preparing to fight. When she heard another crash from outside, Starfire rushed over to the window and looked for the source of the disturbance. She looked over at the training obstacle course and saw Robin going through it. She went to join him but stopped when she saw her sister flying around behind Robin, helping him train by firing starbolts at him. Starfire's heart sank as she saw the two do something that had once been something that only she and Robin had used to do together.

Later that night, Starfire peeked into the living room and saw all four of her friends there. Predictably, Raven was reading while Robin watched Cyborg and Beast Boy play video games. She let out a happy squeak, dashed to her room to grab some items, and came through the doors.

"Friends, I invite you to join me in the togetherness of a 'stay-home movie night.' I have brought us popcorn as well as non-cotton candies. Tell me, what sort of movie shall we view?" Immediately, each Titan spoke up, trying to have first say. After a few seconds of watching them fight, Starfire silenced them by holding up a starbolt. "Please, let us go around the couch and each name our choice before perhaps deciding on one," she said, pointing at Robin.

"Action."

"Comedy," Beast Boy argued.

"Sci-fi," Cyborg jumped in.

"Horror," Raven suggested.

Starfire stayed motionless for a minute before having a suggestion. "Perhaps a double feature?"

"Forget the flicks, kids," came Blackfire's voice from the back of the room, causing everyone to look at where she was. She stood in the entrance dressed in one of Starfire's outfits. "We're going out," she declared.

"We are?" Starfire asked. As Blackfire walked by her, Starfire realized that her sister had stepped into her wardrobe. "Are those my-"

"Heard about a downtown," Blackfire said, cutting across her sister. "Cool crowd, hot music."

"Yeah," Beast Boy said enthusiastically.

"Why not," Robin shrugged.

"If y'all are down, I'm in too," Cyborg agreed jovially.

Raven had up to this point remained silent, choosing to immerse herself once again in her book. "And it's in a creepy rundown warehouse," Blackfire added, trying to coax Raven. Raven looked up and shrugged. "Hey sweetie, raided your closet," Blackfire said as she and the rest of the Titans walked past her. "Hope you don't mind me borrowing your look," she called out as they went through the doors.

"Why not," Starfire said bitterly, standing alone in the living room where she had not thirty seconds ago had her friends ready to hang out with her. "You have already borrowed my friends." With that, Starfire gloomily followed the group out the tower.

* * *

The music shook the thin walls so badly that Raven thought it was a small miracle that the warehouse hadn't fallen in by now. She followed just behind Starfire as the group entered the party. She noticed that Starfire had not been her usual chipper self as of late, and Raven was fairly certain that she could pin Starfire's new behavior to the date that Blackfire had arrived. Even the fact that Starfire was in the back leapt out at Raven: Starfire was usually the first person to try new things.

"Step aside Earthlings, the Queen of the Galaxy has arrived," Blackfire said as she waltzed through the crowd and made room for the others.

"Self-proclaimed," Starfire mumbled so softly that Raven wasn't even sure she had heard properly. Raven sped up to catch up with the rest of her teammates and saw that Starfire was trying to politely work through the crowd. This was made slightly difficult by the fact that most people were simply dancing wildly with no thought to the presence of others. Shaking her head, Raven continued on her way, knowing telling Starfire to muscle her way would not do any good.

Blackfire laughed at the three boys as she let her body flow with the music. "Now don't tell me you big, tough superheroes are afraid of a little dancing," she teased.

"Betcha Cyborg can do 'The Robot'," Beast Boy joked as he imitated the dance. Cyborg glanced down at him before smacking his friend lightly in the back of the head. The three Titans began dancing along with the crowd, Blackfire dancing closest to Robin.

Starfire and Raven stood by a corner and watched the surrounding events. Starfire sulked, watching Blackfire flirt with Robin, while Raven seemed to be focusing on the group in general. After a few minutes, Raven began massaging her temples, getting a headache from the music and lights. "This party is pointless."

"Everything's pointless," a guy said as he stood behind her. "Wanna go talk about it?" Raven looked him over and shrugged before leaving Starfire and walking off. Starfire stood self-consciously in the corner before two friendly looking men came up to her.

"Hey little hottie," one of them complimented, a smile on his face. "You diggin' the scene?"

"I… did not know that we were supposed to bring shovels," Starfire said bashfully, scratching the back of her head nervously. The two boys simply stood still for a moment before laughing and walking off. Starfire did not know exactly why they were laughing but she was able to deduce that it had been something that she had said and was embarrassed.

* * *

The alien ship materialized near Earth's orbit and the two officers gazed down at the blue planet. "The girl might have been able to defeat one drone, but she will not fair so well against three," the younger one said as he pushed a button that released the other three probes into space. They rocketed towards Earth and began following their quarry's trail. They were thrown off track since the trail seemed to go in two different directions at a few points but they still did not stop looking.

* * *

"Hey Star, you seen Raven?" Beast Boy asked as he came up to her with a couple of soda's in his hands.

"She went with a boy to discuss the pointlessness of everything," she said, noticing that under the light Beast Boy seemed to be very tense. "Beast Boy, are you okay?"

"Huh? Yeah I'm fine," he said grinning as a new light moved over him and his face seemed to relax. "Brought you a soda," he said, handing her a drink. Starfire gave a small smile and accepted the drink before watching Beast Boy go over to the rest of the Titans. She sighed and suddenly felt very much like being alone. She wandered through the party before masking her way onto the roof. She looked up into the sky and saw three shooting stars in the distance.

Starfire let out a sad sigh, feeling terribly alone. "Perhaps I do not truly belong her after all," she mused.

"Of course you don't," Robin answered. Starfire jumped and turned around, seeing Robin walking up to her with a smile on his face. "You belong down there having fun with the rest of us," he continued, sitting down next to her. "What's wrong?" he asked, looking into her eyes. He had not seen Starfire so moody and distant in a long time.

"Nothing is wrong," Starfire said with false cheeriness. "Everything is wonderful," she lied, trying to convince Robin she was fine. "The deafening music and blinding lights are quite enjoyable." Robin said nothing and simply stared at her for a few moments. Starfire let out a sigh and finally confessed what had been weighing on her mind lately. "I am pleased to see her, but Blackfire rules the video games. And she is able to share very depressing poems. And she knows the cools moves. And she can perform complicated cybernetic surgery. And she is able to give meditation training tips. And she is pretty and popular. And she is willing to go to concerts. And she is always in the mood for training. And she always knows when people are not talking about shovels," Starfire spilled, her words coming out so fast that Robin had a hard time keeping up. Starfire brought her knees up and wrapped her arms around herself as she gazed up at the night sky, ashamed to look at Robin. "And I am nothing like her," she confessed in a whisper.

"No, your not," Robin agreed, putting an arm around her. "And I think-" he was cut off by the sound of a hatch opening.

"How do I look?" Blackfire asked, showing off a pink wig she had gotten.

"Pink," Robin said shortly. Blackfire's eyes focused on something and widened before looking at Robin, not really listening t what he was saying. "Look, could you give us-"

"Oh, I love this song," Blackfire said excitedly, rushing over to Robin and dragging him back inside. Starfire stood and sighed again before turning sharply to her left, something having caught her eye. She gasped as she saw another drone appear from behind a sign.

* * *

Beast Boy was dancing away when a series of green flashes caught his attention. He looked up and saw a silhouette of Starfire fighting a figure that looked remarkably like the one they had beaten a few days ago. As he watched, it was able to get a grip on Starfire and dragged her out of sight. "Cy, Star's in trouble," he called out. Cyborg instantly stopped dancing and turned around, ready for a fight. Beast Boy looked around for Robin and Blackfire, but saw no sight of them, and according to Starfire, Raven was out with some guy. Beast Boy turned around looked for Starfire, a snarl on his face when four tentacles lunged out of the darkness and grabbed him.

Cyborg stood still for a moment before roaring and running after where Beast Boy had been when he was blindsided by another monster. He slammed into a wall and got to his feet cracking his knuckles. He ran forward and aimed a punch at the monster but it dodged and wrapped a tentacle around his arm, using his momentum to throw him away again.

Raven frowned behind her hood as the guy in front of her flirted with her, badly. She wondered why she had went away with him in the first place and silently prayed for a distraction when suddenly Beast Boy appeared being dragged by a purple machine. The boy she was with ran away while Raven quickly grabbed two crates with her powers and threw them at the droid, stunning it long enough to let Beast Boy get out of its grip. A crash made the two look up as the droid unsteadily got up and they saw Starfire being dragged by a second machine. A third drone came up behind them but was diverted by Cyborg jumping at it and planting both his feet on it.

Starfire flew up into the air, having escaped the creature's grip when it hit the ground and sent it flying back with a starbolt to the side. As it hit the ground, Beast Boy back flipped and morphed into a tiger. He lunged forward and batted it with his paw, hitting into a second droid that had been closing in on Starfire. Raven repelled the third one with an energy field and it flew backwards into Cyborg, who unleashed his Sonic Cannon on it.

As the Titans fought the machines, they couldn't help but notice that all three most frequently attack Starfire. "Congratulations Star," Cyborg grunted as he kept a grip on two of them, "you managed to piss off something with friends." Cyborg slammed the two he was holding together, disorienting them before chucking them both at the third one. It sped towards Cyborg, dodging its brethren and tackled him to the ground. Raven used her powers to pull it off Cyborg while Beast Boy morphed into an octopus to keep the other two away from Raven. Starfire blasted those two with starbolts before they wriggled free from Beast Boy's grip and resumed chasing her.

Cyborg growled and sent one flying away with a powerful kick. As another one attacked him, he grabbed it by the tentacles and hurled it before getting smacked by the third one. Cyborg let out a painful yell as he went soaring backwards.

* * *

"Where are you going," Blackfire pouted as she followed Robin up a flight of stairs. "Stay and talk to me," she laughed, trying to get him to come downstairs.

"I just wanna make sure that Starfire's okay," Robin said, starting to get a little annoyed by Blackfire's clinginess. No sooner had those words left his mouth than did Cyborg come smashing through a wall and landing in a pile of rubble. "What's going on?" Robin demanded as he helped Cyborg up.

"Remember that thing that attacked Star? It had friends," was all Cyborg said before taking off again.

Robin followed but noticed Blackfire had remained still. He couldn't believe that with all her training, she froze when it came time for action. He supposed it had something to do with her sister being the one in trouble. "Didn't you hear him?" he asked incredulously. "Your sister needs help."

"Right, of course," she grinned, taking off the wig and following him.

* * *

Starfire grunted as she went crashing through a wall. Beast Boy and Raven followed, trying to keep the drones away but realizing that without backup they were going to lose this fight. As the three closed in on Starfire, she began to scream as they dragged her away. Beast Boy and Raven made to follow but stopped when a bird-a-rang flew out and sliced two of the tentacles off one of the machines.

"Teen Titans, go!" yelled Robin as he emerged from the hole with Cyborg and Blackfire. He leapt at one of the creatures and smashed it with his bo-staff, spinning it around. Blackfire narrowed her eyes and a stream of violet energy impacted the drone on its underbelly, causing it to explode. She waited for the weak spots of the other two probes to be exposed before firing at them too. In less than a minute, all three were nothing but pieces of scrap.

"Oh yeah, good times," Cyborg said, giving Blackfire a high-five.

"Nice shootin' Tex," Beast Boy grinned as he caught up with them.

"Very nice," Raven admitted.

"How did you know where to hit them?" Robin asked, while also mentally kicking himself for not thinking of hitting their underside.

"Lucky guess," Blackfire shrugged as Starfire walked over to them, hugging a large bruise on her arm.

"We could use luck like that," Cyborg complimented. "Maybe you should join the team," he offered with a smile.

"Me? A Teen Titan?" Blackfire asked breathlessly. Starfire let out a sad gasp as she stared wide-eyed at her friends.

* * *

Starfire walked on the roof of the Titans' Tower, staring at the moon. She looked down at the floor, imagining her friends celebrating the initiation of Blackfire and her heart sank. Starfire knew she had to leave quickly without saying goodbye; otherwise, she would be unable to fly away. "She will be a better Titan that I ever was," she said, though that provided little consolation.

"Were you just going to leave without saying goodbye," Robin asked as he stepped out from the shadows.

Starfire took one look at the dejected Titan's face and she sank to the ground, unable to keep herself aloft any longer. As her legs hit the ground, she sank to her knees, almost in tears. "Robin, I-" she started to say before he silenced her with a finger to the lips. He helped her up and supported her as she started to cry, angry at her sister and herself, and ashamed that she had tried to run away.

Robin opened his mouth to say something but was distracted by what sounded like an airship. While air traffic above the tower was not uncommon, this was much louder, sounding as if it came from very close by. As a small hovercraft appeared out of nowhere, Robin readied himself for potential combat. The two beings that had been tracking Starfire were on board, and Robin eyed the one closest to them, as his right hand had what looked like a gigantic robotic claw arm.

The being stretched his arm out, and a long green tentacle shot out and whacked Robin in the chest, sending him stumbling back a few feet. As he got up, he saw the tentacle wrap around Starfire and rag her towards the ship. He yelled her name desperately and ran at her, trying to catch her before she was taken away. As her body left the roof of the tower, Robin gave no heed to his own safety and leapt off, trying to catch her foot. At the last instant, his hand fell short and Starfire watched in horror as she was dragged aboard the ship, her last image before her vision was obscured by clouds that of Robin falling to the jagged rocks below.

* * *

"Yo, where's Blackfire?" Cyborg asked as he pulled a few bottles of soda out from the fridge.

"Said she had to go to the bathroom," Beast Boy called out from the couch. Raven was sitting across from him as he played Aerial Combat 3, intently reading a book. Suddenly her communicator began to flash a warning, just as Cyborg's and Beast Boy's did too. They all instantly stopped what they were doing and checked their links.

"Looks like Robin's in trouble, but he's not at the tower," Raven said as her communicator locked in on his location. "And Starfire's had been turned off."

"Then let's move," Cyborg commanded after leaving a note for Blackfire. "Blackfire'll join us when she gets back, I'll leave her my communicator."

* * *

Starfire's muffled screams were muted completely as she was placed in a cage. She attempted to struggle against her bonds, but her strength and flight had left her, leaving her as helpless as a human.

"We're almost ready to leave Earth orbit," the younger cadet said as he surveyed Starfire with intense dislike. "We finally have the Tamaranian," he said triumphantly.

"Once we return to Centari, you will pay for what you have done," the older one stated. There was no hatred in his voice, no anger, simply justice. Starfire looked down and closed her eyes, confused but unwilling to fight any longer.

"Nobody's taking her away," Robin declared as he leapt up onto the dock of the ship. "My friend stays here," he demanded as the older one ran at him. The younger being looked as if he clearly wished to enter the fight but was unable to leave the controls, and was also unwilling to leave Earth's orbit when he knew it would mean the death of the human.

Robin leapt over the man as he smashed his claw arm down into the ground. He turned and took a swipe at Robin, again with his claw arm, causing Robin to start thinking of a way to disable his right arm.

"_Take out that main weapon, and he won't be so tough_," Robin thought to himself as he dodged another swipe. His fist slammed into the shoulder joint, causing sparks to fly out. He threw an uppercut to the man's mask and kicked off the chest as he went stumbling back. Robin landed a foot away from Starfire, but she did not know he was there. Her prison blocked out everything but sight from the outside world, and her eyes were still closed. A slight vibration made her look up and she saw Robin huddled behind his cape to defend from energy blasts. He threw a bird-a-rang as a counter defense, but the guard smashed through it and tried to hit Robin, who ducked under a vicious punch. A quick three blows to the crab-arm had it dented and sparking again, and when the tentacle came shooting out, Robin deflected it with his cape and sent it shooting into one of the repulsor lifts.

"No!" the guard flying the craft shouted in panic. His hands worked at the controls furiously as the ship began to sink, and Robin knew he had to act fast. He freed Starfire from the prison and removed the tentacle from around her.

"You came for me?" she breathed, her eyes shining.

"Always will," Robin smiled at her kindly. "Now let's get out of here," he said, taking her hand and running off the ship. Starfire went with him, and for the first time in what felt like ages, she soared through the air with joy in her heart. As the two of them touched the ground, the saw the ship crash and their teammates come running up behind them.

"You guys okay?" Cyborg asked as they reached the pair. Robin made to answer but settled for a quick nod and pulled out his bo-staff as he saw the two behemoths rise up from the dust of the crash.

"Titans, get ready," he ordered, putting everyone else on their guard.

The larger one walked right up to the group, his arms at his side. As he got close, his normal hand went to his chest, causing everyone to tense up. He took it away and was holding a badge. "Under the authority of the Chief of Interplanetary Justice, in the name of the Grand Ruler of the Centari System, you are all under arrest for the aiding and abetting of a known criminal. You will be tried for assault of a police officer and obstruction of justice," he said, pointing at Robin, "and you, Tamaranian, will be tried for high treason, theft, piracy, arson, impersonation of Grand Centari officials, and general depravity and lawlessness," he stated in an authoritative voice.

The Titans just looked at him blankly, their faces full of shock. "Um… you _can't_ be the good guys," Beast Boy said, his mind unable to think of a witty comeback. "_We're_ the good guys."

"And _we_ are Centari policemen," the younger one snapped, held back from attacking by the older one. He pointed an accusing finger star at Starfire. "The Tamaranian is a liar and a thief, among other things. She has committed high crimes throughout the entire Centari System."

Starfire was finally able to speak up. "I have never even been to the Centari moons," she said in her defense. Robin didn't have to look in her eyes to know she was telling the truth; Starfire was a terrible liar. As tried to think of an explanation for Starfire's innocence, his mind replayed something from a few days ago…

"_Brought you a present."_

"_A Centari moon diamond? Where did you-"_

"_On the Centari moons of course…"_

Robin's eyes opened as the pieces fit together. He hesitated, knowing that was he was about to reveal would be highly painful but he also knew there was no other way. "But I know someone who has…" he said sadly, as he took Starfire's necklace off and held it up in front of her. Starfire gasped and her eye began to leak out a tear as the implications of what Robin was saying hit her. "You've been chasing the wrong girl," he told the policemen before turning around to the other Titans. Raven looked like she had a clue about what was going on but Cyborg and Beast Boy were in the dark. "Where's Blackfire," Robin remanded, opening the other two boys' eyes up as well.

"Uh…" was all Beast Boy could say as he pointed to something flying into the sky. Cyborg looked like he was seeing red, and even Raven looked angry at Starfire's betrayal.

"Don't worry Star, she won't get away with this," Robin said gently, not knowing how Starfire would be right now.

"No she will not," Starfire said, surprising everyone with her tone. Every word had an undercurrent of rage, and her eyes were glowing brighter than any of the Titans had seen before. Starfire's hair began to flow, though there was no wind, and with a growl she took up into the sky like a bullet.

* * *

Blackfire had seen the Centari police and figured it was only a matter of time until Starfire was apprehended. Even if she got off the hook, it would buy Blackfire enough time to get out of the quadrant.

"Hello sister," an angry voice said. Blackfire opened her eyes to see Starfire hovering in front of her, her eyes glowing bright green and her arms across her chest.

"Aww, you're mad. I know, I should've told you I was leaving, but you know how I hate goodbyes, and-"

"You are a criminal and you were going to let me take your place in jail," Starfire interrupted, leaning in.

"Oh," Blackfire said, aware that Starfire had figured everything out. "Well, yeah," she said with a sheepish smile.

"You will give back what you have stolen, apologize to those you have wronged, and turned yourself over to the police immediately," Starfire ordered, poking her sister in the chest.

Blackfire was surprised at Starfire's aggressive attitude but quickly got over the shock and went into her bullying mode. "And what will you do if I don't?" she challenged, flying a few inches higher to look down on Starfire. The surprised look on Starfire's face and lack of response told Blackfire that her sister had not planned on Blackfire refusing or resisting. Blackfire grinned sinisterly at Starfire as she raised a hand slowly, charging up a starbolt as she did so. She slowly and deliberately pointed it in Starfire's face before firing and sending her sister towards the ground. "I always _was_ the better fighter," she laughed.

Starfire did a few somersaults before righting herself and looking up at her sister. "Not anymore," she shouted, unleashing an attack of her own. Starfire's attack caught Blackfire completely by surprise and hit her dead on. Snarling, Blackfire straightened herself out and put her hands together. A meteor storm of starbolts flew towards Starfire, who quickly flew to the left to avoid them. Blackfire turned with Starfire, keeping her little sister on the defensive.

Starfire weaved in and out of the blasts, unable to get any closer to Blackfire but still able to attack. She threw three well-aimed starbolts, the first two causing Blackfire to dodge while the third caught her in the hand. Blackfire clutched her hand in pain, unable to shoot starbolts and saw Starfire coming in. At the last second, Blackfire twisted and hit Starfire in the ribs with a powerful kick. Starfire flew back a few feet but did not rush in again. While she may have disable her sister's long range attacks, Starfire knew she hadn't a hope of beating Blackfire in hand to hand combat.

Blackfire glared at Starfire and shot a purple beam out of her eyes; Starfire flew down and dodged, causing Blackfire to give chase. As the two streaked towards the ground, Robin and Beast Boy prepared to go help her but were stopped by Cyborg.

"Don't do it man," he said, keeping his eye on the fight. "Star's gotta show her big sister up this time."

"Besides, it's not as though I'll let Blackfire escape," Raven reminded him. Robin frowned but listened to his teammates.

Starfire saw her friends and the police and an idea occurred to her. She flipped and continued flying towards the ground, but rotated so that she was still facing Blackfire. Luring her with starbolts, Starfire flew closer and closer to the ground, getting nearer to the police. Blackfire, consumed with anger at Starfire, did not pay attention and as Starfire stopped and simply hovered, Blackfire rushed in and prepared to hit her sister. As she got closer, fist raised, a green slime shot out and snagged her around the waist, wrapping her hands around her chest and snaking its way up to her neck.

"Blackfire of Tamaran," the older policeman said grimly, "you are under arrest." He reeled her in and quickly put her in the containment cage.

As Starfire watched, she felt sorry for Blackfire, knowing the Centari prisons were very harsh.

"Farewell sister," she said, waving sadly. "Although you did betray and attack me, it was still nice to see you," she said, remembering the first day when she and Blackfire had spent the entire day together.

"Next time it won't be so nice," Blackfire snarled. "I _will_ get out of jail, little sister," she spat, "and I _will_ get even," she warned ominously.

"Shut up," the younger Centari policeman snarled before turning and looking at the rest of the Titans. He looked at the ground for a moment, embarrassed, before speaking up. "Apologies, Starfire of Tamaran, for the case of mistaken identity. I hope you accept our regrets on behalf of the Interplanetary Justice Department."

"It is all right," Starfire reassured him. "My sister and I do look very much alike," she admitted.

"But your personalities are nothing similar," Robin told her, making her blush faintly. The rest of the Titans did not hear this last comment, as they were watching the Centari police leave, the repulsor life on the transport having been fixed quickly.

* * *

As they arrived home, the sin was just beginning to rise. Grumbling about how her meditation schedule would be out of sync, Raven went to bed. Cyborg and Beast Boy quickly followed, leaving Robin and Starfire alone on the roof. Starfire sat at the edge, unaware of Robin's presence as she watched the sunrise.

Robin watched her for a few minutes before deciding that she shouldn't be alone and walked over to her. "Hey," he said to let her know she was there. She looked at him, her face glum. "How are you doing?"

"I am… sad for my sister," Starfire confessed, though Robin could tell she was hiding something.

"And for yourself?" he prodded, trying to get her to open up. It was a new experience for him; Starfire usually never needed help in opening up.

"I am just glad that the truth was discovered before I was replaced," she admitted.

"Replaced," Robin asked, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Well you-" Starfire blurted before blushing and changing her tact, "and everyone else was having such fun with her. And then Cyborg said-"

"Look," Robin said, cutting across Starfire's worries. "Your sister was…" he searched his mind for a word that wouldn't hurt Starfire's feelings, "… interesting, but she could never take your place. _No one_ could ever take you place," he told her firmly, smiling at her. Starfire smiled back and blushed slightly before scooting closer to Robin. Shyly, she rested her head on his shoulder, and the two of them watched the sunrise together...

* * *

Well, if you've reached this part I want to thank you for reading this, as I think this is the longest chapter I have ever written. I really expanded quite a few scenes, as I said I would, and I hope they came away looking decent. Very hopeful that the carnival came away looking decent, as writing carefree things is not my style: I've been told battle scenes are much more up my alley. I also added a little back-story to BeastBoy's promise to Raven to win her something, and those who paid close attention noticed I changed the prize (intentionally, as it will come up later). I hope I was able to convey Blackfire's overbearingness as well as Starfire's isolation. Didn't intend for Starfire to come off mean, but I always thought that she might mutter something when she thought no one else could hear her.


	4. Episode III: Final Exam

To those who reviewed:

xXNevermoreAgainXx- Glad you liked it, and I am very appreciative of the fact that you chose to review. I apologize that I had to use a threat, but these chapters take between 8-12 hours to churn out, and if I do not know if anyone is reading it, then I think of other things I can be using my time for. Again, I am glad you liked this chapter, and I was wondering what you think about the pairing of Beast Boy and Raven. I am trying to make it somewhat obvious that he has feelings for her, while at the same time not going with the obvious huge signs (I dislike a lot of the way love is portrayed in American fiction nowadays, and am trying purposely not to fall into the trap, as I also hate hypocrites). Anyway, thanks again for reviewing.

* * *

WARNING: GIZMO WILL HAVE A FOUL MOUTH!

In addition to this above warning, know that the HIVE members, particularly Gizmo, are not nice people. That goes without saying, but they will not only defeat the Titans (if you never watched the show sorry for the spoil), they will humiliate them as well.

* * *

A giant screen filled with static before showing a school crest. The hexagonal crest was separated into quarters alternating black and white within a gold border. A large "H" was superimposed in gold script and across the bottom ran a white streamer that bore the letters "H.A.E.Y.P." Behind the crest, a square corridor with yellow walls, ceiling, and floor marked in a honeycomb pattern faded into view.

"_The HIVE Academy for Extraordinary Young People is proud to introduce this year's top graduates,_" a cool female voice began to narrate as classical piano music began to play. A platform rose into view in front of the crest, carrying five young individuals on it. The camera zoomed in on the quintet as the school crest faded from view. A slim girl stood in the center, flanked by four males.

All five leapt off the platform and the camera followed the motion of the shortest boy. The narrator introduced him as he stood. "_Gizmo: the boy genius whose intellect can conquer any problem with an inventive solution._" Gizmo wore a dark green jumpsuit covered in switches and buttons. A pair of goggles covered his eyes, with a wire connecting it to a metallic backpack. He crossed his arms and pressed two buttons on his elbows, causing a pair of large metal wings to sprout from his backpack. He pulled out a control on his waist and turned it around, holding it like a game controller. As he took hold of the device, the wings responded and launched him into the air. As he flew down the corridor, lasers popped out from the wall panels and opened fire against him. Gizmo's goggle began to glow as he pulled off some acrobatic moves that would have made some dog-fighters jealous. As he performed flips and barrel rolls, a few more commands on his controller sent a volley of missiles destroyed all the guns with remarkable efficiency. Gizmo landed on the platform he and his classmates originally stood on briefly before taking off again. The camera, however, stayed still and waited for the girl to jump in and take his place.

"_Jinx-the enchanting sorceress whose powerful hexes mean bad luck for her enemies…_" Jinx dressed in a black dress trimmed with blue ruffles by the shoulders. The dress fell just a few inches below her hips and showed black-and-blue striped stockings and black platform boots. The dark color accentuated her pale white skin; one might have taken her to be an albino. Her lavender hair was bound into two large horn-like tufts that stick up above her ears, giving her a slightly devilish appearance. Her eyes opened as she smiled, her pink eyes framing cat-like pupils. As she stood up, panels in the walls opened to reveal combat droids. Jinx rose slowly, stretching her back when she reached her full height and showing her slender and graceful figure, which, when combined with her movements, showed that she was well used to acrobatics and gymnastics. Jinx extended both her arms and elegantly twirled three hundred sixty degrees. As she spun, purple scythes of energy left her hands and hit panels on the wall. As the robots came closer, the wall panels fell and crashed down on their heads. Jinx back flipped off the platform and cart wheeled down the corridor a short distance. Three large laser cannons emerged from recessed panels in the floor and aimed at the girl.

The male, who could only be described as massive, dropped into view and quickly bent the barrel of one of them as easily and effortlessly as if it were Play-Doh. His collar-length brown hair and a small beard gave him an animalistic appearance, and his choice of wear was a sleeveless shirt and pants made of a type of mesh with studded gold bands crossing his chest and running around his shoulders. The same bands also encircled his wrists. He smiled at the camera for a moment, revealing black eyes and long incisors.

"_Mammoth- the genetically enhanced giant whose unstoppable strength speaks for itself…_" With a grunt, Mammoth tore the cannon from its connections and threw it like an Olympic-style hammer. It skid across the floor and smashed into the other two. As Mammoth stood looking quite pleased with himself, another robot rose up behind him out of a hidden platform and caught him in a powerful bear hug. Mammoth crouched forward and leapt up into the air, causing the robot to smash into the ceiling before Mammoth pulled it off his back and ripped it in half. He used the body parts as weapons as three more robots rushed in to attack him, annihilating all off them. As he began running down the corridor, a containment field rose up around him. Mammoth hammered against it but the field remained unyielding. The camera panned back to show a dark-skinned figure facing away form the camera and towards Mammoth.

The camera spun around the figure as it came up to face level. "_Seemore, the combatant whose considerable cornea lets him see the weakness in any situation, as well as the solution…_" Seemore's choice of wear was a white suit with a green Egyptian eye on the chest. The upper half of his face was covered in a green helmet with only one eye showing. His hand came up to a button on the side of his helmet and the eye glowed a brilliant red before loosing a stream of energy that shattered the containment field like glass. Seemore turned around and his glowed blue as he looked at the walls. His eye glowed red again and Seemore unleashed another blast of energy, blowing through the walls and destroying another few drones. This attack, however, caused parts of the ceiling to cave in and large chunks of metal began to fall towards Seemore.

A male with black skin materialized behind Seemore and put his hand on his shoulder. His eyes glowed a bright red as the metal fell around them. When the ceiling was done caving in, the two of them walked through the wreckage completely unharmed. "_And Kyd Wykkyd- the stealth fighter whose mastery of the shadows gives him an edge in any brawl…_" The silent fighter was dressed in a pale grey suit and a black cape that, when taken with the style of his helmet, made him look as though he had raided Batman's closet. He vanished on the spot and reappeared seven feet away. He grabbed a robot and vanished again, bringing it with him. He reappeared, jamming it in the barrel of another cannon.

As the cannon exploded from being clogged, all five of the agents appeared on the screen again. "_Well-organized, highly trained, and combat-equipped, these new HIVE agents are the perfect fighting force…_" Gizmo took off again on his wings as Mammoth came up behind him. Barrages of lasers emerged from behind the walls and began firing at the team. Seemore's eye glowed white and a shield emerged, protecting the team. Kyd Wykkyd grabbed Jinx and teleported her outside the shield and in the center of the hall. Kyd Wykkyd extended a hand and a shroud of darkness fell around the lasers, disorienting them and making their shots go completely random. Jinx deftly cart wheeled down the corridor, dodging every shot but hitting each and every one with her spells. As the lasers were blown to bits, Jinx landed with her back to the camera, surveying her triumph, then turned to face front, before facing front.

"_And for the right price, this ideal team; this HIVE FIVE can be yours…_" the narrator concluded as the other four slid into view, flanking Jinx once again. The five faded out as the HIVE Academy's crest was set against a dark field before the screen faded to black.

A severe-looking elderly woman holding a clipboard stepped in front of the screen. The hulking man that had summoned her had not said a word throughout the entire film, which had lasted a couple of hours in describing the school. In fact, he had not even moved. Had it not been for the open eye focused on the screen, the woman might have suspected he had fallen asleep. The woman had been to a variety of people wanting to hire HIVE students (usually criminals) but there was something different about this man that made the woman very uneasy. Despite the fact that Jinx, Gizmo, Mammoth, Seemore, and Kyd Wykkyd were standing nearby, the woman had little doubt that this powerful man could kill them all if he truly wished.

"Well, what do you think, Mr.…" she asked, hoping to get a name or alias, which would give her some information on this mysterious customer. She stepped forward out of the dark, revealing a dark outfit with a hexagonal gold patch on one sleeve.

The grey eye stared down at her from the shadowy form that stood behind a railing on a slightly elevated platform across the area. Machinery whirred in the background, creating a haunting tune of technology. "Impressive. Truly," he complimented before turning around and walking away. The way his eye lingered on her made her feel comfortable to follow him, which she did. As she stayed a step behind him, she was pleased to see that her students followed her lead and stayed precisely a step behind her, never breaking their formation. The headmistress hoped very much that this man was going to take her offer: these five were worth more than the HIVE had made in a single sale in quite some time. She drew a small amount of comfort from his initial compliment.

"However…" the man continued, causing the woman's bright premonition to fall slightly as he continued to walk, "robots and obstacle courses only prove so much."

He led her deeper into the machinery and a note of sarcasm wound its way into his tone. "My plans demand operatives who can function in the world." The woman bristled but did not retort; there was too much at stake for this sale and she did not want to infuriate this man.

"_If_ your students are going to serve me…" the man said, getting the headmistress' hopes up again, though she remained completely impassive, "… they'll have to pass one final exam," he concluded, a bit of humor entering his voice at his pun. He sat down in his throne chair and stared down at them all, his face hidden but his eye gleaming in the darkness. The eye narrowed as he spoke his next words, and all emotion except a harsh finality. "Destroy the Teen Titans…" he commanded, "…and then we'll talk." The woman thought about it for a moment. She did not like that the man was essentially getting a free mission, but she knew she could reasonably raise the price afterwards. She bowed to the man, turned to her students, and nodded. The students immediately turned around and left, their mission received…

* * *

Cyborg turned his head left and right, his human and robotic eyes both seeking desperately the object of his desire. "Aw, man, come on," he exclaimed as he lifted the entire couch and shook it, causing socks, CD's, a controller from the GameStation, and even a can of soda to fall to the floor. "It's gotta be around here someplace," he grumbled. Beast Boy watched Cyborg shake the couch before walking into the kitchen as a bloodhound. He sniffed around, enjoying the pungent smell of the fruit and vegetables ripening in the room. As he turned his head, a waft of lavender caught his attention and Beast Boy closed his eyes and deep in a deep breath. As he transformed into a human again, he opened his mouth and took a deep breath, activating a gland in the top of his mouth that would greatly enhance his human sense of smell. As he drank in the scent, Beast Boy was yanked back to Earth as Cyborg let out a roar of frustration and slammed the couch back onto the floor.

"I don't believe this!" Cyborg shouted in aggravation. Beast Boy walked back into the living room and began sorting through materials under the TV. Raven looked up from the corner of the room from her book with an annoyed look but said nothing. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Beast Boy facing her, but when she turned to look at him, he was turning away. "How could you lose the remote?" Cyborg accused Beast Boy.

Beast Boy's eyes snapped to Cyborg as he got defensive. "What makes you so sure I lost it?"

"Uh… 'cause you're you," Cyborg said sarcastically.

"Hey! Just because I lost that video game-"

"And the toothpaste; and Starfire's necklace; and my football; and Raven's cloak in the laundry; and the waffle iron; and the GameStation; and the hair gel; and our communicators; and your own uniform; and Robin's utility belt; and the boom box; and instruction manual for the tower; and-

"Things disappear," Beast Boy defended himself as his face flushed red. "How am I supposed to know where they go?"

"Well, how am I supposed to watch TV without a remote?"

Beast Boy's answer was cut short by the sound of a slam. They turned towards Raven to see her standing with her cloak pulled around her, her book at her side. She gazed at them, annoyed, and snapped at them: "Simple. You just get up and change the channel."

Cyborg and looked at each other before turning to her again, their faces a mixture of confusion and horror. "Don't even joke like that," Cyborg said softly, his voice bordering on scared.

"Yeah Raven, even my humor doesn't sink that low," Beast Boy agreed.

"I wasn't joking," Raven said coldly.

"Good, 'cause it wasn't funny!" Cyborg snapped. "Now either help us look for the remote or go back to your nasty old book and-"

"This is a pointless argument over a useless device," Raven said, talking over Cyborg as Robin and Starfire entered from the back. "You are wasting your energy and disrupting my concentration," she continued, glaring at them. "You are also squandering your time when you could be training or enjoying the planet that you live on instead of viewing fake stimulation from a screen."

"I'm telling you, I didn't lose it!" Beast Boy said, turning from Raven and defending himself from Cyborg's accusations again. "You were the one watching TV last! So if you want to blame someone look in the mirror, buddy!" As he shouted, his face stayed the same shade, though now it was red from anger rather than embarrassment.

"… and that is the secret to traveling faster than light," Starfire said to Robin, finishing their conversation. She turned towards the room and gasped when she saw everyone's angry faces.

"Whoa! Take it easy, Titans! Combat practice is this afternoon!" he said, trying to calm his team down. It worked temporarily; the other three turned to face them.

Starfire took advantage of the silence to try to make everyone happy. "We must mend your dispute by the sharing of unhealthy junk foods. I shall fetch them," she smiled, walking into the kitchen and looking for the snacks she had made.

"I don't need food," Cyborg shouted at her as he saw her poking around.

"But your always hungry," Beast Boy joked, trying to get Cyborg's attention away from the lost technological device.

"What I need is a time machine so I can go back in time and stop this little green bean from losing the remote," he said, pointing at Beast Boy, whose face fell as he realized food was not enough to distract Cyborg.

"You know what, I'm glad Robin's here; we can ask him," Beast Boy said, turning towards the leader. "Robin, have I ever lost anything?"

"Listen guys," Robin said before Raven began talking.

"Robin, aren't they wasting their time. Shouldn't they be training instead of rotting their minds with the TV?"

"Uh, look…" Robin tried to say, but the other three began arguing with each other and ignoring him.

"You don't even know what I was going to watch!" Cyborg accused.

"I don't need to know; I've watched you watch TV. Your brain waves drop incredibly," Raven retorted.

"Wait, TV really makes you stop thinking," Beast Boy asked, thinking that had always been a myth.

"Well, you don't do much thinking ever," Cyborg muttered.

As the argument became more and more heated, Robin tried to keep them somewhat apart so there would be no blows, but he was having a difficult time keeping the three teens separated.

Starfire, meanwhile, had found some Tamaranian food in the cupboard, but noticed that it was covered with thick blue fuzz. She slowly rubbed some off with her pointer finger and sniffed it. Sticking it in her mouth, Starfire decided that she rather liked the sourness of the fuzz and prepared to take a bite. As she leaned in, the mold made some sort of noise and began to move. Starfire squeaked in surprise and reacted instinctively: she backed up and fired a starbolt into the cabinet.

Whatever the mold was made of, it reacted quite violently to attacks and exploded, drenching the room in the goop. The argument in the living room came to an abrupt halt as the four Titans stood still, scared half to death by a mold bomb going off a few feet away from them. Raven, Beast Boy and Cyborg were facing each other, with Robin squished in the middle. Only one foot was on the floor; his other three limbs were trying to push the other three away from each other. As the mildew dripped from the ceiling, Robin eyed it disgustingly and mumbled a suggestion that the others quickly took him up on: "Maybe we should just go out for pizza." The other Titans quickly went to their room and changed. As they left, each one hoped fervently that they would not be the one who drew the short straw at the parlor, since that person would be the one who would have to clean up the mess.

* * *

Raven groaned as she watched her teammates argue back and forth about what kind of pizza they should order. She felt her frustration at their inability to agree mounting and took a few deep breaths to try to calm herself.

"Black olives and mushrooms," Robin asserted.

"Dude, I didn't hear onions mentioned anywhere," Beast Boy commented.

"Pepperoni's the only way to go guys," Cyborg said as he put down his menu.

"Who else likes anchovies," Starfire asked, getting a look from the others.

"Can we please just order _something_?" Raven asked, her stomach grumbling and her temper shortening.

"As long as it's vegetarian," Beast Boy said as he squatted on his stool.

"I _need_ some meat to clean my systems out of all that tofu you made me eat last week." Cyborg said in a pleading tone.

"Hey, that wasn't my fault," Beast Boy reminded him. "You made the bet with Raven, and she was the one who made the condition."

"Come on, man, how can you deny me the all-meat experience?"

Beast Boy looked at him with a horrified expression. "Dude, I've _been_ most of those animals," he reminded his cybernetic friend.

"I suggest a large pizza with pickles, bananas, and mint frosting," Starfire suggested, drawing looks from Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg.

"Okay, I'm a vegetarian, but even that's pushing it for me," Beast Boy muttered, causing Cyborg to chuckle. Starfire looked at the three of them, who quickly turned their faces to Robin, their body language clearly telling him he would have to be the one to correct Starfire.

"Uh, Starfire? Not everything on the menu is a pizza topping," he whispered from behind a menu.

"Oh," was all Starfire could say, blushing at the faux pas she made.

"Double pepperoni," Cyborg said again, hoping to convince the rest of his team. If one other person agreed with him, he could out-vote Beast Boy.

"I'm _not_ eating meat," the changeling argued vehemently.

"There's no meat in pepperoni," Cyborg lied. "That's why it's got the word 'pepper' in it," he tried. Beast Boy just looked at him while the others started arguing again.

The Teen Titans were unaware that they were being observed from afar. As Gizmo leveled his goggles at them, he marked each of them off with a bull's-eye. "Idiot," he muttered as he heard Cyborg's last comment. He raised a device to his hand and spoke into it: "Gizmo to Jinx."

The girl in question was standing at a street corner near a parked bus. She cupped a hand to her ear to hear him better. "_Begin Phase I_." She nodded to herself and carelessly waved her hand at the bus. A spark of pink electricity leapt from her hand over to the bus, which began to roll down the hill. Kyd Wykkyd sat in the seat and began to blast the horn.

The noise got the attention of the Titans, who looked at the bus curiously, but it was Beast Boy who noticed that at the bottom of the hill was a lone baby carriage. His ears twitched as the sound of a baby's crying found its way to him. He gasped and pointed. Robin saw what Beast Boy was pointing at and he quickly ordered the team into mobility.

Starfire grabbed Robin and they rushed towards the bottom of the hill. Beast Boy took Cyborg and accompanied Raven towards the bus. Cyborg landed and planted himself in front of the vehicle, catching it and slowing it down somewhat. Raven hovered near the bottom of a hill and her eyes began to glow as she extended her hand, moving part of her consciousness into the bus. She found the gearshift and discovered that it was in "neutral." She narrowed her eyes and it shifted over to "Park." The tires stopped spinning and went into a screeching skid before finally halting.

"Yo, are you out of your mind?" Cyborg screamed at the bus as he walked over to the doors and ripped them open. "You better get out here and explain…" he trailed off, seeing the bus was empty. He turned towards Raven and the others, scratching his head in confusion. "Um… don't buses normally have drivers?"

"And don't baby carriages normally have babies?" Robin added, holding up a green teddy bear curiously. Beast Boy walked over to it to hold it when everyone was shocked by an unfamiliar voice.

"Are you dumbasses normally this stupid?" Gizmo asked mockingly over a speaker. The voice came from the bear right before it exploded, causing Robin, Starfire, and Beast Boy to go flying into an alley way. Raven and Cyborg watched this new development, stunned, when a metallic groaning caught their ears. They looked towards the bus and were astonished to see it tilting on its back wheels. It stayed stationary for a second, letting its spontaneous wheelie register in the two teens' minds before slamming down on them. As the dust cleared, Mammoth strolled up to Jinx and Seemore, who had been watching everything from the corner, while Gizmo landed from the air and Kyd Wykkyd phased up through the ground.

"Man, that was too easy," Seemore laughed, surprised that their mission had been so simple. He had been expecting the Titans to put up more of a fight.

"Yeah, what a bunch of amentias," Gizmo chuckled. He turned around and saw the pizza parlor up the hill. "You guys wanna get pizza?" Kyd Wykkyd nodded and began walking towards the place when a sharp voice from their right caused the HIVE FIVE to stop.

"This isn't over," Robin declared as he emerged from the alley with Starfire and Beast Boy. All three were covered in garbage, yet other than that, they seemed relatively unharmed.

Mammoth leapt away from the bus when a gigantic sonic blast dislodged it from the crater and turned it on its side. "We're just gettin' started!" Cyborg shouted as he emerged from the hole. It was a testament to his designers that he was only scratched, not dented. A bird-shaped shadow loomed up behind him before resolving into Raven, who looked completely at ease with the situation.

"Who are these guys?" Beast Boy asked as he took a banana peel of his shoulder and looked at the five villains. "And what's an amentia?"

Leaving his second question unanswered, the five HIVE agents assumed an attack position and decided to answer his first.

"We are the HIVE!" Gizmo bragged.

"Your worst nightmare!" Mammoth grinned as he cracked his knuckles.

"We're the new bad-boy's in town," Seemore affirmed as he brought one hand up to the side of his face.

"And this is Attack Pattern Alpha!" Jinx shouted as the group scrambled. Gizmo sprouted wings again and flew at the trio in the alleyway. He shot a salvo of laser shots at the alley, chipping loose large hunks of masonry. Beast Boy looked up and dodged the attack by becoming a bird, but Starfire had no reaction time except to cover Robin's body with hers, her own being more dense and able to take the attack.

Raven erected a shield as Jinx ran at her. Jinx stopped before crashing into the dark energy and put a hand on it. As the shield crackled with energy and repelled her, Jinx laughed.

"You think something like that's gonna keep me out?" She taunted before covering the shield with her pink lightning. Raven gasped as the spell went through the shield, but relaxed when it inflicted no physical damage.

"_Don't fall to her taunts, just maintain the shield and study her attack pattern,_" Raven thought to herself, concentrating. "J_ust maintain the shield and… I wonder how Beast Boy managed to lose his own uniform…_" Raven gasped as her shield disintegrated as her concentration broke, leaving her vulnerable to physical attacks. Kyd Wykkyd teleported in front of her and threw a few punches at her. Raven blocked most of them, but was thrown off when Kyd Wykkyd started to teleport around her while attacking.

After being hit five times, Raven began to mediate off the ground and fly away. Jinx snickered and hit her with another spell, causing her meditation to become distracted again. Beast Boy swooped down and caught her before she hit the ground. Raven looked over at him silently and erected a shield just in time to block a blast from Seemore. Beast Boy rushed forward and morphed into a gorilla before attacking Seemore. Kyd Wykkyd grabbed his teammate just in time and teleported them out of range of Beast Boy. The changeling looked around for the duo but didn't hear Raven's warning in time to avoid a blast from Seemore from behind. Raven looked behind the HIVE agents and was relieved to see Starfire and Robin emerging from the rubble: three against two odds were killing her.

Cyborg struggled against Mammoth in a contest of strength, and neither teen seemed willing to back down. Cyborg was initially surprised as Mammoth's strength but he held his ground, causing the pavement underneath his feet to develop spider cracks. He pushed back, his superior strength forcing the hulking human back. Mammoth, however, seemed completely content with Cyborg's winning.

Starfire threw a starbolt at Seemore, who was now away from Kyd Wykkyd, who had left to help Jinx with Raven. Seemore's eye glowed white and shot out a shield to deflect Starfire's attack before glowing red and shooting one of his own. The two battled with projectile attacks as the other fights raged around them.

Robin bounced off a wall and launched himself at Kyd Wykkyd, who dodged the attack quickly. Robin unleashed a barrage of martial art attacks, but Kyd Wykkyd was able to always stay one step ahead due to his teleporting ability. Robin finally threw a smoke sphere, obscuring the villain's vision before landing an attack right on the psychic's chest. He rocketed himself at Kyd Wykkyd who smirked and phased into the ground, causing Robin to smack into the pavement. As he lay there, stunned, the teleportor picked him up and threw him at a wall. Beast Boy caught Robin as a falcon and let the Boy Wonder touch down before reentering the fight.

"What do you call an idiot with a rocket on his back," Mammoth taunted as he struggled against the android. Cyborg preferred not to answer, choosing instead to use his energy to slam Mammoth into a wall. Cyborg pushed against the teen, but was distracted by a small weight on his back.

"Duped," Gizmo laughed as he attacked a booster to Cyborg's back. He back-flipped off Cyborg and Mammoth pushed him away right before Gizmo pushed a button, activating it. The device caused the teen to fly up into the air, screaming helplessly. His cried attracted Starfire's attention, and Seemore took advantage of it to blast her into a wall. She shook off the attack and left the battle, trying to catch up to her friend. As soon as she reached him, however, the rocket changed course, sending the two in a zigzag pattern across the sky.

Raven ducked under an amateur spin kick by Jinx and backed up to avoid two more attacks. In addition to the physical strikes, Raven was kept busy by the fact that pieces of the pavement kept jutting up, trying to trip her. She had also realized Jinx's spells would break her concentration, nullifying Raven's powers. She countered a punch with a backhand, but Jinx blacked it and laughed.

"You fight like a boy," she taunted before back-flipping out of the way.

"And you're gonna croak like a frog," Gizmo sneered. Raven looked up at him, surprised. Gizmo's backpack had forgone the wings and had sprouted four spider legs. He was holding a small cannon and pointed it at her before firing. The impact hurled her down the street and squarely into Robin, who stopped charging the group to catch her.

Beast Boy charged forward as an ox, but Mammoth caught him between the horns. With a grunt, the giant picked Beast Boy up, no small feat, as he was a fifteen hundred pound animal, and tried to slam him into the ground. Beast Boy snorted and bellowed before changing into an octopus, his soft body absorbing the impact. He wrapped three arms around Mammoth and flung him away before noticing Seemore powering up his eye. Beast Boy quickly transformed into a snake and dodged the blasts. He tried to ram the HIVE agents but was repulsed by a shield Seemore constructed. He backed off and became a T-Rex, allowing his monstrous frame to intimidate them. Beast Boy let out a mighty roar, scaring Seemore and causing him to close his eye, lowering the shield.

As Beast Boy ran, he realized that he was not moving. He heard a growl from behind him and was jerked off his feet. Mammoth held Beast Boy above his head like a heavyweight lifting champion. "Mammoth's gonna make you extinct," he taunted before throwing him back towards Robin and Raven, who were getting to their feet.

Beast Boy hit the ground as a human and bounced and rolled over to his comrades. He stood up shakily and turned to face them, his face bruised and a trickle of blood coming from his mouth. "Is it me, or are we getting our butts kicked?"

Raven and Robin looked at each other before they answered simultaneously: "It's just you."

"Listen up, team. I have a plan," Robin started, but got no further before a discharge caught his eye. He dodged to the left to avoid two blasts Gizmo had fired from a cannon from his backpack. They hit his friends and Robin watched as they went flying back a few blocks. Robin turned to face the HIVE FIVE and saw them all staring at him.

"Gee, shit-sniffer, sure hope your fancy plan includes getting fried!" The weapon leveled itself at Robin, who bravely stood his ground.

"You'll just have to find out the hard way," he taunted as he took a fighting stance. He made a "bring it on," gesture, provoking Gizmo. The shoulder-mounted laser zeroed in on him and fired a pair of shots. Robin crouched behind his cape, which absorbed the blasts, and leapt away to avoid another pair of shots. Jinx cast a pair of spells at him, and Robin quickly leapt onto the wall to avoid the cracks that the pavement sprouted. Seemore aimed his eye at him and Robin grabbed his bo-staff, deflecting the blast as he swung at Kyd Wykkyd. As he expected, the dark psychic teleported away, letting Robin throw one of his flash bombs.

Jinx, stunned by the explosion, received a quick boot to the stomach, and Robin's bo-staff cracked off Seemore's helmet a second later. Gizmo was tripping over himself to get away from the brawl, as hand-to-hand combat was not his style, and Robin quickly back-flipped to avoid an attack from Kyd Wykkyd. Mammoth reached out and caught Robin around the waist. Robin struggled for moment before kicking off Mammoth's face, freeing himself, but ripping his belt off in the process. As he landed, Seemore fired a blast, not at Robin, but at the ground where he would land. Jinx and Gizmo also aimed their attacks in the same area, and Robin let out a horrified yell as he fell through the hole, plunging into the sewer water below.

Beast Boy and Raven arrived at the scene and looked at what had happened. "Robin!" Beast Boy yelled, hoping to hear a response. When none came, he flung himself down the hole and transformed into a crocodile, wading through the water. Raven extended a hand towards Mammoth and snatched Robin's utility belt before following Beast Boy. Kyd Wykkyd smirked as he sank into the ground, intent on following them. Gizmo gave chase as well, firing at the pair of Titans as they ran away. One errant blast hit the utility belt out of Raven's hand, and it hit the water, floating downstream…

* * *

A couple of hours later, Raven and Beast Boy entered Titans Tower, the latter heavily bruised and limping, supported by Raven. Beast Boy winced as he took a few steps and sat lightly down in a chair, looking up at his friend through one eye, the other swollen shut. "That didn't just happen," he said in a desperate tone. Raven looked at him from behind her hood, surveying all his injuries. She couldn't understand how he had been so damaged when she had escaped with very few marks. She chalked it up to her powers and listened as he repeated his request. "Tell me that didn't just happen," Beast Boy pleaded.

"It did happen," Raven said, though not unkindly. "We cannot change the truth," she told him. Seeing his face, she added words that she had only thought. "No matter how much we dislike it." She slowly extended her hand and enveloped it in a blue energy. Hesitantly, she touched the leg Beast Boy was limping on and took a sharp intake of breath. She closed her eyes and grit her teeth as Beast Boy felt the healing energy wash over him, missing the signs from Raven.

He rubbed his leg and felt the deep pain gone, though there was still was still some residual acheiness. He threw a half-hearted smile at her and tried to lighten the situation. "Who knew we had a doctor in the house?" Raven didn't smile; she only hovered over to a chair next to him and sat down. "Thanks," Beast Boy said shyly.

"No problem," Raven groaned. Both Titans tensed up as they heard the doors of the tower begin to open. Cyborg and Starfire entered the tower, both with large smiles on their faces.

"Maybe y'all should call me Flyborg: I was halfway to Gotham City before Star zapped that thing off my back," Cyborg joked, clearly in a good mood. Obviously, the thought that the Titans had lost had never crossed his mind. "So what'd I miss?" he asked, looking around. Raven's eyes fell as he looked at her. Not surprised, as she was always the quiet one of the group, he was a bit shocked when Beast Boy's eyes also fell. "Tell me how we kicked their butts. Come on, I gotta have the play-by-play," he continued, trying to draw some conversation out of them.

"Where is Robin," Starfire asked, her eyes scanning the lobby for her favorite Titan.

"Um, Star…" Beast Boy said uncertainly, not sure how to break the news to the Tamaranian. "We're not sure."

"Not sure?" Starfire said, confused. "Why are you not-?"

"We searched everywhere…" Raven said sadly, "…but all we found was this." She brought out Robin's utility belt from beneath her cloak. Starfire gasps in horror as she saw the yellow device spattered with blood and the implications sank in.

Cyborg groaned and clapped both hands to his forehead. "I shoulda been there," he muttered, his face in his hands. "I let that kid sneak up on me and- what was I-? It was a trap, and I-I shoulda known," he whispered as he rested his head on his forearm, which was leaned against a wall. A tear came out of his face and he let out a small moan.

Starfire was still looking at the utility belt, confused. "I do not understand. How could you not find him?" She raised her voice and her eyes began to glow as she got close to Raven. "People do not just vanish," she exclaimed angrily. "He has to be someplace, so go there, and look!" Starfire shouted at Raven, her face turning red.

Beast Boy saw Raven's expression and quickly put himself between the two females. "Easy, Star," he said, trying to pacify the passionate alien. "This is Robin we're talking about," he reminded her. "I'm sure he's fine."

A roar from Cyborg distracted the others and they saw him slam his hand into the wall. They watched in horror as the android began to pummel the wall, causing steel to buckle and bend under his power. They watched him but made no move to interfere: Cyborg's pain had to be vented somehow, and better on the metal than on them.

"Then… Robin is gone," Starfire whispered in despair as Raven handed her the belt. Starfire cradled it reverently as she sank to her knees, her eyes completely blank and dull.

"What are we gonna do?" Beast Boy asked Raven as they watched the team fall to pieces.

"I- I don't know," she admitted as she touched down, favoring her right leg.

The motion in the room stopped as the door mechanisms came to life again. Starfire looked up, hope in her eyes as she flew over to the door. "Robin!" She exulted, thinking she was about to see her best friend.

As she landed by the doors, they were blown completely off her hinges, blasting Starfire back. Out of the dust came the HIVE FIVE smiling sinisterly.

"Oh no," Beast Boy moaned as he got up off the chair. Mammoth merely cracked his knuckles.

"Oh yes," Jinx grinned evilly as she led the group.

"Y'all got lucky out on the street, but you're in our house now!" Cyborg shouted in rage as he brandished his Sonic Cannon.

"Yeah, nice place," Gizmo leered as he raised himself up onto his spider legs again. "We'll take it!"

Seemore charged his eye up to full power and shot a massive blast of energy that sent the four Titans reeling back. Starfire somersaulted in the air and threw half a dozen starbolts at the HIVE members to stall them. Beast Boy clambered to his feet and got out of Cyborg's way as the android backed up and fired his Sonic Cannon at Seemore, who was countering every attack with his eye beams.

"Split up!" Cyborg ordered as he smashed a panel, causing a large steel door to rise up out of the floor and cutting the HIVE off. As the Titans retreated, they saw Kyd Wykkyd phase himself and the rest of the team through the doors.

Raven flew to a landing on some stairs and tossed a pair of nearby fire extinguishers towards Mammoth. The giant swatted them away and continued chasing her. She phased through a wall, but Mammoth merely smashed his way though it. They continued this game of hide and seek for a few moments before Raven stood in the center of a room and waited for him. As Mammoth charged, Raven formed a shield around her and Mammoth's attack pounded on it, but could not penetrate Raven's dark energies.

* * *

Beast Boy dashed up the stairs and morphed into an octopus again. His muscles thanked him for the relief as he began to throw every object within reach at the advancing duo. Kyd Wykkyd teleported past the items and threw a double kick at Beast Boy's head. Though his body was soft, there was still enough force to send him back a few feet. Beast Boy stumbled to his feet when suddenly the wall panel behind him blew out. He rolled to the left and got up, his muscles protesting. He staggered down the hallway, avoiding more panels before turning into a bobcat and weaving through them.

"Here kitty, kitty," Jinx said tauntingly as she unhurriedly followed him. "What's the matter, afraid of a little bad luck?" she smirked as she continued walking down the hallway. As she got close to the wall panels, they continued to explode around her. Kyd Wykkyd began phasing through the walls, looking for their foe.

* * *

Starfire burst through the doors of the gym and slammed them shut behind her. She quickly sent a stream of energy at the edges, welding them shut. When she was done, she looked at it nervously, wondering if it would hold. It proved to be a moot point a second later, however, when a piercing laser traced a hole through the middle of the door in a humanoid shape. As the hole fell forward, Seemore stepped comfortably through and looked at Starfire.

"I see you," he leered. Starfire glared at him and sent a large starbolt at him. Seemore rolled to the right to dodge it and fired a blast of his own. Starfire matched his attack and the two circled the gym, their powers warring in a terrific explosion of light.

* * *

Cyborg reached the top of the stairs and saw Gizmo following him, his little body suspended by the spider legs. Cyborg fired his Sonic Cannon down, but Gizmo's legs were very nimble and able to dodge every shot. Cyborg ran down the corridor and took a few turns to try to lose the boy genius. As Cyborg crept in the corner, he held his breath and saw Gizmo making his way towards him. Cyborg waited to form his Sonic Cannon: if Gizmo hadn't seen him, the noise would give him away.

Cyborg breathed a sigh of relief when Gizmo strolled right by Cyborg's corner. He emerged silently and followed the miniscule teen. As Gizmo entered a large storage room Cyborg smiled to himself. "_Perfect. That little runt's advantage is in long range. If I can keep him in there, I'll have the advantage._"

Cyborg quietly snuck into the room, getting out of the doorway as soon as he could. As he walked in, the doors behind him slid shut with no warning.

"Hey," Cyborg said, before slapping his mouth shut.

As he took a few steps forward, Cyborg activated his night vision, allowing him to scan the room. Curiously, Gizmo was nowhere to be seen. A wall of light coming from behind startled Cyborg, and he turned around to see Gizmo's grinning face from a wall of TV's.

"So, Tin-Man, you got a heart under all that outdated crap-ware?" Cyborg frowned at the jibe but otherwise said nothing, trying to triangulate the source of the feed before Gizmo sprang a trap on him. "Not telling?" Gizmo's voice taunted as Cyborg looked around. "Guess I'll just have to take you apart and find out," he cackled as he lowered himself from the ceiling towards Cyborg, who stared in complete surprise.

* * *

Raven stayed behind her shield while chucking equipment at Mammoth. Punching bags, weights, training equipment; if it wasn't nailed down, she threw it. Mammoth seemed unstoppable though: able to shrug off anything she threw at him. As she lowered her shield, Raven concentrated on the water pipes under the floor and brought them up. As they wrapped around Mammoth he stood and laughed at her.

"You think something like this can hold me honey?" he sneered before ripping his way free. Raven gasped, surprised by his incredible strength, and gave Mammoth the perfect opportunity to grab her. He picked her up and slammed her into a wall. With his hand around her throat, he brought her in close and whispered in her ears. "Scream for me," he whispered.

Raven growled instead and kicked out, her feet hitting Mammoth right in the face. He yelped and let go of her, sending the teen to the floor. She blasted him with her mental energy, but Mammoth's body was capable of taking an incredible amount of punishment.

"Robin's dead, you know," Mammoth taunted as he sidestepped her attacks. "And the other members of the team aren't as merciful as I am. They'll kill everyone," he said, knowing the effect he was having on her.

"No," Raven muttered to herself, trying to keep despair from overtaking her.

"Yes," Mammoth said softly as he walked up to her. Raven had ceased attacking and was grabbing her head, trying to contain her emotions. "The other girl, the android, and that little green friend of yours," he sneered as he lifted her up. "But if you behave, maybe the other's will let me keep you as a pet," he coaxed as he ran a hand up her leg. Raven's eyes glowed bright red as she began to lose control. She bit him on the hand, her fangs sinking deep into his flesh. Mammoth snarled and punched her in the stomach and face, trying to elicit a scream from her. Raven snarled as she snapped and caused a massive explosion to erupt between Mammoth and her. The force threw him across the room and Raven through the wall. She gasped as she wrenched control over her emotions back and plunged into the ocean. She looked up and saw something else plummeting right for her.

* * *

Beast Boy panted as he ran around a corner. He glanced behind him, and seeing no one, let out a sigh of relief. "Lost her," he panted, relieved. A moment later, a pink spell went over his head and hit a ceiling panel. It swung down and smacked him right in the face, knocking him backwards.

"This just isn't your lucky day," Jinx remarked as she walked up to him.

Beast Boy sat rubbing his head for a second before transforming into a Tyrannosaurus-Rex again and roared with enough force to shake the entire building. Jinx back-flipped to get out of range before Kyd Wykkyd ran up to him. Beast Boy roared again and changed into a gorilla, grabbing Kyd Wykkyd and throwing him into a wall. The teleportor, however, phased through it, leaving nothing but a hole where Beast Boy had struck.

"What's the matter," he taunted in a hissing voice. "Worried about Robin," he snickered from the floor. Beast Boy let out a bellow and smashed his fist down, missing Kyd Wykkyd but punching another hole in the floor. The dark psychic continued in his taunting manner, getting Beast Boy to steadily chip away at his footing. Finally, he teleported behind Jinx. Beast Boy growled and became a rhinoceros as Jinx closed her eyes. When she opened them, they were glowing pink as she extended her hands and pointed at Beast Boy. A large pink ring came up from the floor and circled Beast Boy, who ignored it. As he charged, the floor under him gave way and he was sent plummeting down. As he fell, Beast Boy concentrated and became a falcon. He flapped his way up the hole, exhausted from the beating he had taken in the sewers and all the transformations. He became a cheetah and dashed off for the control room.

"_If I can activate the tower defense, it'll give me a chance,_" Beast Boy thought to himself as he ran, every muscle screaming in protest.

When Beast Boy reached the control room, he staggered in and limped over to a computer. As he reached for the computer keys, Kyd Wykkyd teleported in front of him, scaring him. Beast Boy stumbled backwards into a chair, which sent straps around him. Beast Boy sat struggling in the chair as Jinx waltzed into the room.

Kyd Wykkyd teleported out of the room and into the lobby, waiting for the rest of his team to finish taking over the tower, leaving Beast Boy alone with Jinx. "I wish I could keep you guys around: you were a lot of fun to fight," Jinx pouted as Beast Boy continued to struggle. "But I can't and- whoops, did I do that?" she said innocently as she sat down on a control panel, activating an ejector seat. Beast Boy stopped struggling and looked at her with horror. Jinx winked at him as his seat was fired straight up, ejecting him from the room and then the tower itself.

As Beast Boy plunged into the ocean, the cold water jolted his nervous system and he began to struggle again. As the chair sank, Beast Boy tried to concentrate on becoming any kind of marine animal, but his focus was fading along with his consciousness.

A figure swam down and grabbed hold of Beast Boy. He opened his eyes feebly and saw a rush of blue. "Raven…" he tried to say, but being underwater, all that came out was a stream of bubbles. The telekinetic teen freed him from the chair and carried him over to a large piece of wreckage that she hoped would support both their weights. Tears rolled down her face as she swam.

* * *

Starfire flew into the air and flew at Seemore, who erected a large shield to stop her. Starfire smashed against the shield before charging up her starbolts and hammered away. Seemore began to sweat with the strain of keeping the shield up: his power was only effective as long as he kept his eye open, and he really needed to blink. Thinking quickly, he shot a quick burst of energy at Starfire before shutting his eye in relief. As he opened it again, he saw a table flying at him. He panicked and hit the floor, dodging two chairs as well. As Starfire threw more objects at him, Seemore activated his eye beams again and shot them out of the air, proving to be as adept of a shot as Starfire was at aiming.

Starfire thought of a strategy and seized a punching bag. She swung it at him and waited until he aimed at it before she fired one of her starbolts at it too. The combination of their powers hitting the sandbag caused it to send dirt and dust everywhere.

"What, did you think dust in my eye would slow me down? That's what the helmet's for," Seemore laughed as Starfire took to the air again. She moved through the dust silently, tracking Seemore by his voice. As she swooped in for an attack, she was shocked when he spun around to face her and blasted her out of the sky.

"Heat vision, sweetie," he grinned, tapping his eye with a finger. "There's nowhere you can run, nowhere you can hide. I'll always be able to see you," he smirked as Starfire flew out of the room and waited from him in the corridor. As he turned the corner, Starfire let a massive beam fly from her hands. Seemore realized instantly that he would not be able to block it, and setting his power for maximum penetration he fired into the heart of the attack. His attack pierced Starfire's and hit her while the overall wave of hers blasted him back a few feet. Thankful that the increase in attack size downgraded the power, Seemore got to his feet and quickly shot a pink bubble at Starfire. As it hit her, it expanded and trapped her. Starfire slammed her fists against the container, but to no avail.

Seemore grew nervous as he felt the field begin to break. It showed no outward signs, but Seemore knew he couldn't hold her much longer. "Robin's gone, you know," he said to her. Starfire shut her eyes and continued hammering away. "Even if we didn't kill him, the water did. He's probably lying down somewhere as all those cuts of his become infected. He can die a nice slow death," Seemore laughed as Starfire stopped fighting. He smirked in triumph as she sank to her knees, her spirit broken. Seemore cackled and rolled Starfire over to a window overlooking the ocean. "In the words of the immortal Arnold Schwarzenegger," Seemore said as he charged up his laser again, "_hasta la vista, _baby."

Moments later, a beam shot through the bubble, hit Starfire, and blasted her into the ocean. She swam towards the surface and saw Raven pulling Beast Boy over to some wreckage. She swam towards them, unable to fly from her crushing defeat.

* * *

Cyborg dodged two swiped by the legs and leapt off the ground. Gizmo cursed as Cyborg punched at him, narrowly avoiding his body. Gizmo leapt back on the legs and changed into the wings again. He took off around Cyborg, pelting him with shots. Cyborg fired his Sonic Cannon at the tiny target, who laughed and sneered as he dodged Cyborg's attacks. Gizmo barrel-rolled and shot a number of missiles at Cyborg, whose shoulder blades rose up to reveal missiles of his own. The explosives clashed andCyborg backed off and picked up a TV. He tossed it at Gizmo, who narrowly dodged it before shooting a missile at Cyborg. The android jumped over it and let it blow a hole in the wall behind him. Gizmo charged Cyborg, exchanging his wings for the spider legs again and swinging his front two legs at him, forcing the android back. As one leg came swinging down, Cyborg saw his change and grabbed it with both hands.

"Gotcha," he said in victory. Gizmo just grinned and swung another leg down. Cyborg shifted the leg he had under one arm and grabbed the other one as well. With one wrench, Cyborg broke the legs and sent Gizmo tumbling to the ground. Cyborg quickly walked over to the stunned teen and picked up the backpack. He ripped it off Gizmo's back.

"Hey, lemme go, you frikin' shit-sniffer," Gizmo shouted, panicking. Cyborg indeed dropped him but kept one hand on the technology. He crushed the device and tossed it away, not paying any attention to it as he walked around the room, looking for Gizmo. His pace had become very relaxed, thinking that Gizmo was no longer a threat. He heard footsteps in some crates and walked over to the corner.

"How you gonna fight me without your tech?" Cyborg taunted as he moved boxes aside. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a small shadowy figure and he made a beeline towards it. He lifted another box and tossed it aside, smirking as he heard a gasp. Cyborg reached down for Gizmo but was shocked when his hand went right through him. Cyborg backed off as he realized that he had fallen for a holographic projector, and he realized that Gizmo was not quite as helpless as Cyborg had originally thought.

The real Gizmo, perched on a piece of equipment behind him, jumped down onto Cyborg's back and pulled out a tool.

"Yo, what are you-" Cyborg asked before a blinding pain shot through his head. "Get out of my systems!" Cyborg exclaimed in a strained voice as he fought for control of his own body. "Nobody hacks my systems," he defied as Gizmo mercilessly took control.

"You're not even all robot. You actually kept your organs," Gizmo sneered as he went to work. Cyborg began to run around, growling and struggling against the whiz kid on his back. Gizmo steered Cyborg towards the common room, making the android go through walls with the human side of his face. Cyborg began to curse his mechanical half as his electronic brain refused to black out, while his human side endured ridiculous pain. When he entered the common room, his heart sank: the other members of the HIVE FIVE were there, which made it very unlikely that Starfire, Beast Boy, or Raven had had any better luck than him.

"Hey guy's, let's check out what this wimp has under his shell," Gizmo chuckled as he began pressing controls. Cyborg began seeing red from the humiliation of his body armor popping off in front of his enemies. As the armor came off, a series of organs were seen in a sack protected by multiple layers of a clear shield. Some of his right leg was normal, and his left bicep was also revealed as flesh. The rest of his body was robotic, and the only part of his armor that Gizmo left on was his feet. "Ooh, an ejector arm. Cool," Gizmo reveled as he caused Cyborg's whole right arm to pop off halfway between the elbow and shoulder. Cyborg watched helplessly as he watched his arm clatter to the floor, now useless.

"Hey Jinx, remember your birthday last week? We couldn't get a guy to come in and party for you, so this'll have to do," Gizmo roared in laughter as he exposed Cyborg's hips and thighs as real. Tears of humiliation leaked out of Cyborg's eye as Gizmo made him dance and Jinx whistled and laughed. Gizmo cackled as he saw Cyborg's pain and activated the boosters on his feet. Cyborg was too deep in his shame and embarrassment to realize he had control of his body once again as he was shot out of the tower and landed in the ocean.

He looked at his teammates and his heart fell: they had lost the battle.

"Have a nice afterlife, you snot-sucking scumbags," Gizmo laughed as Jinx cast a spell at the ocean. The tide immediately began to carry the Titans away before a large wave crashed over them, sending them towards shore and away from the tower that had used to be their home.

* * *

As the Titans drifted towards the shore, their thoughts played back over the events of the day. So much had changed in the past few hours; it was hard to believe they had started out by arguing for the remote and whether or not TV was good for you.

"_That didn't just happen…_"

"_Get outta my systems._"

"_Tell me that didn't just happen…_"

"_Get off me…_"

"_Robin. Where is Robin?_"

"_Gotta go out for the others…_"

"_I do not understand…_"

"_We searched everywhere…_"

"_How could you not find him?_"

"_All we found was this…_"

"_People do not just vanish…_"

"_Oh, no…_"

"_I shoulda been there. I shoulda known._"

Beast Boy crawled up the shore to some grass where he sat down. Out of all four of them, he looked the worst: one eye swollen shut and uniform in tatters, showing deep claw marks where Kyd Wykkyd's attacks had connected. He saw Cyborg stay in the water and pick some floating rags up. Tying them together like an apron, Cyborg emerged from the ocean only a shadow of his former self. The bulky robot the others had come to recognize was gone: his body was much more slim and sophisticated. Without the armor and with his organs and flesh exposed, Cyborg looked naked. Raven climbed up the hill, keeping her cloak around herself as she remembered Mammoth touching her flesh. Shuddering, she looked at Starfire, who alone seemed to have escaped unscathed. Raven's emphatic abilities, however, told her that while Starfire had sustained the least amount of damage physically, the alien's heart was silently shattering.

"So, uh, who else never wants to go surfing again," Beast Boy asked.

"Not now man," Cyborg snapped.

"Hey, I was just trying to-" Beast Boy was cut off from defending himself by Raven putting a hand on his shoulder. "I was just trying to lighten the mood," he whispered.

"I know Beast Boy, I know," she whispered back. "But to everything there is a proper time and place. This is neither. Look at him," she whispered. "He's lost his weaponry and armor. No matter how it robbed him of his humanity, he's grown used to it. Without it he feels naked."

"What about you?" Beast Boy asked after he took a few calming breaths. He watched as Cyborg extended one of his fingers and activated an acetylene torch. He sat down and began to work on one of his legs. He swung his eye back towards Raven and saw her falter.

"I'm… I'm all right," Raven said as she blushed and looked away. "You look terrible," she said, looking at his injuries.

"I wanted to find out what a punching bag goes through," Beast Boy said with a feeble smile, revealing a missing tooth. "I think we should give ours a pay raise."

"Do you ever stop joking?" Raven asked as she tried to scan his body for what she could fix.

"Not until you smile," Beast Boy said as he moved away.

"Perhaps… I could be of some assistance," Starfire asked tentatively as she walked up to Cyborg.

"I got it," he said shortly as he finished his spontaneous repair on his leg and moved on to his opposite shoulder.

"But… you are so badly damaged," Starfire protested. "And since Raven cannot heal you, and you should not perform surgery on yourself, maybe I could-"

"What part of 'I got it' was too difficult for you to understand, Starfire?" Cyborg snapped as he stood and looked down at her. "I don't know how it works on your perfect fucking home planet, but when people on Earth say they've got it, they've got it!" Starfire took a step back, tears in her eyes. Cyborg had been angry before, but he had never cursed.

"Hey, she only wanted to help," Beast Boy yelled. Yelling at him for bad humor was one thing, but he would not let Starfire be abused verbally. "What is your deal?"

"Do you really have to ask?" the android shouted. "We got kicked out of our house, a pint-sized Poindexter took me for a joyride, I performed a strip dance in front of some freaks, and in case you haven't noticed, I just became left-handed," he finished, holding up his right shoulder joint for emphasis.

"So don't take it out on her. It's not her fault that little pipsqueak hacked you. 'Split up'; great plans genius," Beast Boy spat. "If we had worked together, we might have won. But no, you wanted your chance to be a hero and-"

Raven stared at Beast Boy as he hit the ground. Cyborg snarled as he took a step forward, his eye narrowing at Beast Boy. "Take some advice into that thick skull of yours for once," he warned, "and shut up."

Beast Boy got up and cracked his jaw. He walked over to Cyborg defiantly and stared at him, his body as straight as he could make it in his battered form. "Still picking on the little guy huh," he sneered. "Guess you're still a coward." Cyborg winced and closed his fist again. As he swung at Beast Boy, a burst of dark energy pushed him back.

"Enough," Raven ordered. "You need to control your tempers."

"Or what? Our bad vibes will keep you from your precious meditation?" Cyborg snapped. He was beyond rationality at this point.

"Don't you snap at her," Beast Boy snarled.

"I wish Robin were here," Starfire whispered.

"Well he's not!" Cyborg screamed at her.

"Fighting like this is not going to lead to anything productive," Raven tried to get everyone focusing on the HIVE FIVE again.

"'Anything productive'?" Cyborg asked incredulously. "Don't you guys get it yet? They won; we lost. _It's over_!" he cried before slumping in defeat. The anger form the loss of Robin and his pride had dissipated, taking his strength with it. A long moment of silence passed over the group as they looked at their former home.

"Then… the Teen Titans are finished…" Beast Boy said sadly. If anyone had thought it was a question, his dejected tone and the air of finality he had around him took away that presumption.

"Not yet," came a familiar voice. The Titans gasped and looked behind them to see their leader. Beaten, bruised, and battered, covered in nasty looking cuts, but alive, stood Robin. His cape flapped behind his body slightly in the breeze, and he wore the biggest smile they had ever seen. "Not if I can help it."

"Robin!" Starfire shouted with joy and ran at him. Robin quickly back pedaled away from her, wincing when he saw the dejected look on her face.

"Sorry Star, but I can't handle one of your hugs right now," he said, eliciting a chuckle from Beast Boy. Starfire nodded and gave him a soft hug, tears of joy running down her face. Robin patted her on the back awkwardly before turning to the others.

"Um, dude, don't take this the wrong way, and I'm totally happy to see you here, but, how are you alive?"

"Those cuts should have become infected by the water," Raven agreed.

"I… don't get sick," Robin said evasively. When the other just looked at him, he sighed. "I'll tell you the whole story, but let's get a fire going, and let's get out of here for now," he said, nodding towards the tower.

* * *

"While I was working with Batman, we started getting terrorist attacks from people using biological and chemical warfare. People were dying and there was nothing we could do to help them," Robin said in a depressed tone. "Batman did some research and found a way to strengthen our immune systems. It took some trial and error, but when he was done, me and him became immune to any disease known to man. He's considering marketing it, but the problem is you have to be in really good shape, otherwise it might kill you. It's essentially weakened diseases of every type entering your body at once: I was bed-ridden for three weeks before I felt any better," Robin explained. "So, while these cuts burn like hell, I can' get sick from them, and my flesh isn't going to rot away."

"Can I heal them for you?" Raven asked as she shifted closer to the fire. The heat washed over her like sinking into a hot bath and she let out a small sigh. Robin nodded and Raven began channeling energy into him. The team watched in silence as Robin's cuts slowly began healing themselves. It took almost fifteen minutes, but when Raven was done, Robin looked good as new.

"How come that took so long," Beast Boy asked as he laid back. "When you healed my leg before, it only took a moment."

"Different injury, different procedure," Raven said as she moved closer to the fire again. The red light flushed her skin as she stared into the flames.

"So what's our plan?" Cyborg asked after a few minutes. Robin smiled and began drawing in the sand a basic attack pattern…

* * *

Gizmo looked at the wall and made a square with his fingers. "Higher," he instructed two drones that were mounting Cyborg's right arm. "A little to the left… a little more… and, perfect!" The drones attacked themselves to the wall and Gizmo smiled at his trophy. "Slade's gonna piss his pants when he hears we whipped the Titans _and_ took their crappy tower," he laughed as he walked over to a wall with CD's.

"Not to mention Robin's favorite fashion statement," Jinx agreed as she slung Robin's utility belt around her waist. The belt was too big for her and hung loosely at an angle, much in the way Raven's belt did. Jinx held up one of the psychic's cloaks and let out a snort. "But that's the only thing fashionable around here," she sighed as she held it up against her body, looking at her reflection in the Tower window.

"Tell me about it," Mammoth agreed as he sorted through Starfire's cabinet of food. "All their food is _way_ out of date," he commented as he sniffed the piece of meat covered in mold. He shrugged and tossed the food into his mouth. Chewing it, he decided it wasn't so bad. "Out of date, but not bad," he said to himself aloud before grabbing something else and stuffing it down too.

Seemore watched Mammoth in disgust. "Do you even _know_ what you're eating," he asked in a horrified voice as his eye focused on the food. His acute vision zoomed in on the food until he could see the microscopic creatures running around on it.

"No, but he obviously thinks it tastes delicious," Kyd Wykkyd said as he watched Seemore turn slightly green from the sight of Mammoth.

Gizmo took a handful of CD's and began sorting through them. "You think that stuffs rotten?" he called over to the pair. "Wait 'til you see their music," he said as he began throwing CD's all over the floor. "Crap… crap… crap… mega-crap," Gizmo muttered to himself as he continued sorting through the tunes.

"Well, the TV's not crap," Seemore said as he stopped watching Mammoth. He looked around the room for the remote and used his eye to see through things until he found it under a pile of video games. He flicked on the TV and leaned back, enjoying the movie-theater quality.

"Hey, they've actually got some good games in here," Kyd Wykkyd commented as he rifled through them. "Wait a second, this game doesn't even exist?" he said as he pulled out a copy of "Android Ninja and the Attack of the Zombie Werewolves." As he looked it over and read the back, he wondered where the game had come from. "Know what, I think one of them might have actually designed and made this himself," he said incredulously.

"Lemme see," Seemore said as he opened the box and began reading the instruction manual. "I think you might be right- there's no company logos on this. Doesn't look like a bad game either," he said, fairly impressed, as he popped it in the GameStation and turned it on. "Dude, it's got multiplayer! Join in," he called over to Kyd Wykkyd, who immediately dropped the other games and joined his friend.

Unnoticed by any, the middle finger on Cyborg's discarded arm began to twitch. The last knuckle popped off and supported itself on two thin, almost invisible legs. In the center was a small camera that nevertheless had amazing resolution and zoom features. It swiveled over to Mammoth, who was busy gorging himself on Starfire's food. It then zoomed in on Gizmo, who was busy discarding and rearranging CD's, before focusing on Seemore and Kyd Wykkyd.

"Oh man, did you see that sweet move?" Seemore gloated as he pulled off a combo.

* * *

Cyborg sat on the beach with his human eye closed. He didn't need to concentrate very hard to use his remote camera, but it was harder to do so with one eye showing something in front and the mechanical eye focusing on something else. "_Oh man, Raven's gonna be _pissed_ when she finds out they went in her room_," he thought to himself as he saw Jinx trying on Raven's cloak. He slowly and carefully flipped the camera around to be set in the finger before having the hand go down on the floor, supported by the other four fingers.

As the arm carefully crept its way across the room, it kept a careful eye on the HIVE FIVE. If any of them saw the arm moving, Cyborg knew they would tear it to pieces, and might even leave the tower to come after them: Gizmo would surely be able to triangulate their position.

Cyborg breathed a sigh of relief when his arm landed on a computer chair, out of sight. Four cables flew out from the joint where the limb connected to the stump of Cyborg's arm. Cyborg focused on the keyboard and deftly typed in a few commands. As he input the final code, the screen shut down and alarms and buzzers started to blare throughout the tower. Seemore and Kyd Wykkyd cried out as their game was shut down and Jinx tore off Raven's cloak as she looked around for the source of the disturbance. Mammoth pulled himself out of the cabinet, a piece of mold hanging out of his mouth as all of the cabinets started to open and close randomly. Gizmo looked at the odd scene when an abject whizzed by his ear. Turning to look where it came from, he saw nothing but the CD player. Another disk shot out and hit him square between the eyes. He gave a yelp of surprise and pain as he stumbled back. The player continued to go berserk, doing its best to impersonate a skeet shooter as CD's went flying around the room.

"What the fuck is going on," he demanded as he crawled backwards towards the chair where Cyborg's arm was hiding. As if in answer, the chair pivoted and showed the hidden appendage. Gizmo screamed in surprise and fear. The tentacles shot forth and wrapped around the midget's arms and legs. Gizmo struggled, but was unable to free himself as the bionic limb jumped down and sped across the floor dragging him. After it got a running start, a couple of small jet thrusters popped out from the forearm. The camera flipped itself around and the palm became a fist as it headed for a ceiling vent. Gizmo got taken for the ride of his life as the arm dragged him through the vent, being very careful to bang him into as many walls as possible.

Back in the kitchen, Jinx looked around, focused on spotting the next trap. What she didn't see was a large shadowy hand reaching down from the ceiling. As it seized her, she had time for one startled cry before it retreated into the ceiling, taking her with it. Seemore and Kyd Wykkyd sat stunned on the couch when a spring suddenly launched the entire piece of furniture into the ceiling. A hole opened, leaving room for the entire thing to go all the way to the tower roof. Mammoth began running for the roof but was tripped up by starbolt blasting him in the back. The force made him fly up the stairs and into a wall. He had scarcely hit the floor when another blast was deployed from hidden turret in a corner, sending him bouncing around the tower like an astray ping pong ball.

Jinx landed on the roof of the tower, paler than usual and feeling as though she wanted to pass out, or vomit; she wasn't sure which she would prefer. Behind her, Cyborg's arm burst out of a vent pipe and carried the screaming Gizmo higher and higher into the air. After a couple of seconds, it swerved back toward Jinx, and she gasped as the cables released Gizmo and shot the surprised techie into her. Stunned from the impromptu missile, Jinx had a delayed reaction when a hole opened up next to her and a sofa shot up into the air. Seemore and Kyd Wykkyd clutched each other and screamed in fear began to fall. Jinx and Gizmo rolled out of the way just in time to avoid the couch and they shakily got to their feet, looking at each other in puzzlement. A door opened up behind them and Mammoth was blasted out onto the roof in a burst of green light. He bowled over Jinx and Gizmo and the three of them hit the other two in the couch, the impact flipping the sofa over and leaving all five agents with a headache.

"Sorry to interrupt the victory celebration," Robin said as his belt floated over to him, suspended by Raven's powers. "But like I said…" he informed the shocked agents as he hooked it around his waist, "…this isn't over." The rest of the Titans were behind him in their standard attack formation, and all of them looked ready for a fight. Beast Boy's bruises had been healed by Raven again, though he had refused to let her heal anything deeper than that.

"It's just getting started," Cyborg confirmed as he reattached his right arm. He looked slightly comical, with one arm was thicker than his leg while the rest of him was smaller. His mechanical eye glowed bright red before the rest of his armor came shooting out from all over the tower, propelled by small jets. They automatically fitted themselves on his body, and he smiled as he flexed his bulky frame again.

Jinx and the other HIVE agents got to their feet, their faces showing surprise but also confidence. "HIVE FIVE, eat 'em alive: Gamma maneuver," Jinx ordered, causing the other members to scatter while she threw a hex at the team. The Titans scattered from where they were standing, and where the spell hit the floor swelled up and exploded.

Beast Boy came down from his jump only to find Mammoth coming straight at him. He jumped back and changed into a mountain goat, butting Mammoth in the chest before the giant could pull back. Mammoth stumbled back and barely caught his footing before a giant fist socked him in the face. Beast Boy backed off and changed from the gorilla he had used for the hit into a hawk. He surveyed the fight and saw Jinx running at Cyborg, who was busy firing his Sonic Cannon at Seemore. As the latter blocked the attack, Jinx hopped onto Cyborg's shoulders and pushed off, sending a stream of spells his way. The spells missed Cyborg but hit two water tanks nearby, and the biomechanical teen quickly dodged the large containers.

Jinx smiled as she saw Cyborg was distracted, but grunted as Beast Boy smashed into her. As she hit the ground, Jinx saw Starfire throwing a few starbolts at her. Seemore quickly opened his shield up around himself and Jinx, but was left vulnerable from behind. Raven took full advantage of this and picked up the sofa, ripping it half. One piece was sent flying at Jinx and Seemore, who were bowled over by the couch, while the other one was chucked at Kyd Wykkyd. The dark teen teleported out of the way but was hit by Robin with a flying kick as he rematerialized. Robin took advantage of Kyd Wykkyd's surprise by throwing a freeze disk. As the teen was trapped in the ice up to his neck, he laughed at Robin.

"You don't think something like this can hold me for more than a few seconds, do you?" he taunted.

"I wouldn't try teleporting if I were you," Robin said as he gazed through his mask. Kyd Wykkyd ignored the warning and tried anyway. As he moved, so did the ice with him. Kyd Wykkyd was stunned as he appeared a few feet away still encased.

"See, the ice is sticking to your skin cells, and anything your touching goes with you," Robin explained as Kyd Wykkyd stood there. Robin walked up to the frozen teen and pushed him over, letting Kyd Wykkyd smack his face on the tower.

Cyborg charged Seemore, who fired his eye cannon at him. Cyborg charged his Sonic Cannon's power up to match Seemore and let loose. As the energies clashed, Cyborg kept an eye out for a certain diminutive HIVE member, knowing Gizmo wouldn't be able to resist another chance to humiliate Cyborg. As he watched Starfire distract Seemore, Cyborg backed up against one of the fallen tanks and pretended to size up Seemore. Sure enough, a few seconds later he felt a small weight land on his back.

"Hey, Robo-turd, feel like getting' hacked," Gizmo taunted as he pulled a tool off his belt.

"Nope. How about you?" Cyborg chuckled as he leaned up against the tank, pinning the small HIVE agent between his body and the tank. "Robin, now," he called over to the teenager as Gizmo groaned in pain. Robin turned his head from Kyd Wykkyd and threw an electric disk with amazing accuracy. Cyborg dodged out of the way just in time to let the disk hit Gizmo right in the chest. The disk whirred to life and sent shockwaves of electricity through the boy's suit.

Gizmo began running around, trying desperately to pull the device off but unable to. Curses let his mouth like water from the Niagara Falls as his suit went haywire, firing random pieces of technology before the electricity crashed his nervous system and he slumped to the ground, unable to move except for an occasional twitch. Robin left to fight Jinx while Cyborg refocused his attention on Seemore.

Raven calmly levitated as Mammoth rushed at her. At the last second, she sank through the floor and grabbed his feet, causing him to fall to the ground. As the giant got to his feet, Robin planted both his feet on Mammoth's face and pushed off as hard as he could. As Mammoth went flying backwards Beast Boy became a pterodactyl and grabbed him by the shoulder. He soared towards the ground and released Mammoth, sending the giant on a crash course with the tower floor. Cyborg spotted the falling agent and let a blast of sonic energy hit him. Mammoth grunted from the hit, but his momentum was slowed enough so he didn't go through the floor.

Seemore was getting tired from continually switching between attacking and defending with his eye. As he dodged and blocked attacks from Cyborg and Starfire, he saw Raven fighting Jinx and Beast Boy scaring Mammoth as a raptor. He realized Robin was nowhere to be found a split second before a flash bomb went off in front of him. Seemore screamed from the pain of such bright light flooding his eye and he sank to the ground. Starfire swooped in and smashed her fist into his helmet, cracking the glass and exposing his eye to the world.

Robin tied up the cycloptic teen as he watched Starfire zoom off to fire at Jinx. The spell-caster was able to dodge the starbolts but was having less luck with the blasts Raven was sending her way. As the two females forced her backwards, she made her way towards a patch of construction she and her teammates had been planning. Starfire signaled Beast Boy, who nodded from where he sat crouched on a girder and became a monkey. As he leapt down, he let out a screech to get Jinx's attention. He leapt onto her face and started making noises to get her to panic. Jinx let loose a stream of spells as she tried to get Beast Boy off. As she finally got him in her hands, she wrapped her fingers around his throat, but Beast Boy quickly became a snake and slithered out of her grip.

"Your luck just ran out," he told her as he became a bird and flew off. Jinx looked at him, confused, before the sound of girders snapping drew her attention. She looked around and saw the bolts popping and large pieces of metal beginning to fall. She panicked and ran out from the construction site just before it collapsed. As she got to her feet, enraged, Starfire hit her precisely in the chest with a beam of energy. Jinx was blasted back but remained on her feet, though a follow up whack to the head by Robin's bo-staff quickly changed this and put her on the ground.

Mammoth was now the only HIVE agent remaining, and it was clear that he was beginning to tire. As he charged Raven again, furious that the sorceress had beaten his team, Cyborg blindsided him with a tackled. Mammoth fell to the ground and grunted before getting up again. Beast Boy ran in and began wrestling with him as a gorilla again. Mammoth's strength, diminished by the punishment he had taken, was no match for Beast Boy's and he began to be pushed back. Beast Boy roared as he clamped down on Mammoth's hands and lifted the giant into the air. He smashed him into the floor and there the giant stayed, finally too battered to get up again.

Gizmo had by this time shaken off the effects of the electrocution he had received but quickly realized that he and his team were finished. "Fuck this: I'm calling Slade," he grumbled as he pulled a communicator off his belt.

Robin pulled the minute teen up off the ground by his chest and leaned in. "Who is Slade?" he asked as he narrowed his eyes.

"Wouldn't you like to know, shit-for-brains?" Gizmo laughed as he reveled in the knowledge that, though beaten, he still knew something the Titan's didn't.

* * *

The Headmistress of the HIVE Academy looked nervously at the man as Gizmo's distress call signaled. She tried to cover her fear by promoting the school again. "I assure you; such failures are not tolerated within the HIVE." The man remained completely impassive. "Once the agents have been retrieved from the authorities, they _will_ be disciplined." As the man made no comment or move, she socked a fist into her palm. "_Strictly_ disciplined."

The hulking man finally spoke up, his eye focused, not on her, but on a wall of TV screens. "Actually, your agents served my plans quite well. I never expected them to succeed," he said sarcastically. The Headmistress became indignant over such a poor expectation of her students, but said nothing. "They were merely messengers. And the message has been received," the man said as he pushed a button on his wristband.

The Headmistress was distracted from fuming that her student had been reduced to such an insulting job by Robin's face on the screen. "Who is Slade," he asked as the loop repeated itself. The three-word question was repeated countless times as every screen began to show Robin's face.

"I am afraid though, that you know too much about me and where to find me," Slade said as he sat down in his throne chair. The woman's feeling of unease and foreboding returned to the woman as she contemplated what he meant.

"I assure you, all transactions are completely confidential, and since we did not meet your expectations we are not expecting a price."

"Nor shall you receive one," Slade said in an amused tone. "However, neither shall you leave this place… alive," he said as he flicked his wrist and sent a throwing star at her. The star sliced through her skull and she hit the floor, dead in an instant.

* * *

An anguished shout pierced the Titan's Tower. "This is the worst thing that could ever happen!" Beast Boy lamented as he looked at his CD case. "My tunes! They've been… alphabetized," he moaned as he stepped back. "How am I ever gonna find anything?" he asked no one in particular as he began putting them back in a seemingly chaotic order.

"They went into my room," Raven said in a voice that could freeze the sun. "_No one_ should _ever_ go into my room," she growled as she considered the lack of privacy.

"Someone has disposed of all our blue furry food," Starfire cried as she inspected her food cabinet.

"Those punks actually tested my game? The one that I made!?" Robin said in an outraged tone. He looked at the screen, still paused from where Seemore and Kyd Wykkyd had been playing the previous night and began grumbling to himself.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Cyborg said in an exasperated tone as he searched the room. "The whole place gets cleaned and I still can't find the-"

Robin's whistle brought his complaint up short as he looked where the leader was pointing. Cyborg let out a cry of triumph as he saw the remote Robin was pointing to and he picked it up and began flipping through the channels. The rest of the Titans joined him around the couch and they began to settle down for a movie night.

"I guess we really oughta be training for battles," Cyborg said as he threw a guilty look at Robin, who sat back and crossed his feet.

"And tracking down clues so we can find out where the HIVE came from," Raven added as she settled in an armchair with a book.

"And trying to figure out who this Slade is, huh," Beast Boy remarked as he took a spot on the floor.

"As well as begin construction on the repairs needed on the tower," Starfire asked as she sat next to Robin and leaned on him.

"We will," Robin assured them. "But right now, I'm just happy to be part of a team," he said as he leaned back and stretched, content to just hang out for a little while. There was a time and place to gather clues and train, but this was neither; it was a time and place for relaxation…

* * *

Well, that was a monstrosity to write. Kudos if you managed to get through it, and I hope the fight scenes were enjoyable. Sorry the HIVE came across so evil, but I figured if they were going to beat the Titans, they would want to demoralize them too. Well, I don't want to make you read too much more, so I will simply ask for a review, wish you a good day or night, and say goodbye until next time.


	5. Episode IV: His Parts' Sum Is Only Human

To those who reviewed:

Star of Airdrie- Glad I'm filling in the story and fleshing it out. Very nervous that you are going to read the next chapter now, since it gets somewhat darker. Thanks for the encouragement though.

xXNevermoreAgainXx- Glad I'll have at least one loyal fan :). Truthfully, writing these isn't so bad because I don't sit down and do it all in one shot. Maybe an hour and a half, two hours a day: it sounds like a lot, but when it's flowing I don't even notice the time. But near the end, yes, it gets hard (especially when I see I'm writing like 20-24 pages a chapter). Speaking of the changeling and our little purple haired beauty, I really expected the show to make a pairing of them in Season Four, and I can't really watch those episodes anymore because Robin is the guy who comes after Raven. Never liked how Robin was always... unstoppable. If your a Robin fan, be prepared to see him be humiliated and beaten more than in the show (be especially prepared to see some... "sick" is the only word I can think of to describe it, things when he becomes Slade's apprentice). And the whole bruising and cuts thing is why I liked DragonBallZ: you knew when someone was hurting because his clothes were ripped and he was all cut up and stuff. Anyway, hope you like the next chapter, because I'm skipping one, combining it with another, and throwing in some original things. Thanks very much for the review, it means a lot to me.

lacrimosa - Glad you enjoyed the chapter. Honestly, the only reason I included the HIVE FIVE is because I couldn't reasonably make the Titans lose to only three members. And I will admit that I have a penchant for fighting scenes, though it was a long while since I've written them (nice to see I haven't completely lost my touch). Actually, I won't be including Lighting and Thunder for a while, for reason's given below. And let's be honest: Slade really is just an evil psycho, and I didn't think he'd let the headmistress go. Glad you enjoyed the chapters so far, and I hope I can continue to please.

* * *

Author's Note: You might have noticed from the title that this is not going to be the fourth episode. As I said in the introduction, changes are being made to the series, and while the fourth one is personally one of my favorite episodes, I do not have the skill to put it in so early. Lightning and Thunder will eventually make an appearance, but only after I come up with a more practical way to introduce them, (I realize I am trying to rationalize a cartoon, but bear with my insanity please).

This is somewhat more original than the others, since I'll be combining two episodes with a little originality in here. The reason for this is I couldn't figure out a way to make Fixit relate to Slade, and I really liked the Atlas episode, but had the same problem. Therefore, after giving it some thought, I've decided to change Atlas up a little bit and try to combine those two episodes. Just so you all know, this is the first time I've ever done something like this, so if it sucks, I apologize in advance and comfort myself with the fact that I gave you due warning this chapter might not be any good. This chapter is going to focus primarily on Cyborg. I will try to keep some character development in the others, and I will definitely include Slade, but Cyborg will be the star of this chapter. That being said, here is Episode IV in my series.

* * *

Episode IV: The Sum of His Parts… Is Only Human

Robin grunted and panted as his fist shot out. The blow landed almost too quickly to see and the punching bag went soaring back. As Robin pivoted his foot from the punch, he brought up his leg and snapped off a round kick to another bag to his left. He landed to his left again and fired off a double rib smash to another bag. Robin's foot snapped up and he executed a sidekick to the fourth bag. As he landed, Robin sensed the first bag swinging back and dodged to the right. He hit the second bag with a knife strike while kicking forward at the third bag. The four bags, each weighing over two hundred pounds, continued to swing back and forth, forcing Robin to multitask and keep his eye on all four of them to avoid getting bowled over.

Starfire flew above Robin as she avoided a hailstorm of laser blasts. While they were not lethal, Starfire had no wish to be hit by the lasers, as the blasts they emitted were highly painful. She flipped over and flew with her back facing the ground as she tossed five starbolts at the drones. Only three of them impacted as the machines dodged her attacks, retaliating fiercely. Starfire frowned: her chances for a perfect score were lost now, but she could still try to get as high an attack-to-hit ratio as she could.

As Starfire flew around the workout room, she saw Beast Boy as a tortoise walking on a treadmill. Beast Boy pushed his body as he went as fast as he could, getting up to seven miles an hour. He then shape-shifted into a bighorn-sheep and continued, getting it up to over thirty miles an hour. As Beast Boy began to pant, his form turned into a cheetah as he really poured on the speed. After a few minutes, he leapt off the treadmill and onto a series of bars and thick columns with handholds. Beast Boy transformed into a gorilla and began swinging across them, hitting a button on the first panel.

Raven, upside-down and keeping herself aloft and balanced above a needle as Blackfire had trained her to do two weeks ago, took a deep breath as she saw the light go on. She had gotten much better at this exercise, though she still insisted on using some power to keep her cloak from slipping down over her face. As she exhaled, she focused her mind on the next part of her exercise. "Azarath… Metrion… _Zinthos_," she breathed as the columns where Beast Boy was moving began to float into the air. Beast Boy had to continue his way around, swinging to and from ledges and bars that were now moving around. Starfire weaved through the columns as she dodged and circled around, destroying two more drones by causing them to crash into the walls. Her starbolts flew around, causing Beast Boy to dodge them as well in this training exercise.

Cyborg was not taking part in this three-person exercise. Instead, he was doing a combination of squats and benching. He stood underneath a giant sled that was being filled with one-hundred pound weights. As he squatted down, part of the structure rested on his back while he kept a firm grip on two handlebars. He pushed himself up from his position and squatted down again, raising his arms up as he did so. Pushing himself up again to a standing position, Cyborg then leaned back slightly and brought the machine down to his chest three times. He then placed it back behind his neck and continued. After every five reps he would say "more," which would signal a voice-activated computer to drop another weight on.

Robin stopped his training as he saw Cyborg struggle with the weights. Now somewhere in the four-thousand pound range, the sweat was pouring down the biomechanical teen's face.

"Come on Cyborg, push!" He shouted, encouraging his friend.

"What's it… look like I'm doing?" Cyborg grunted back as his muscles strained under the weight. By now, the others had also stopped their exercises and had come down to see Cyborg's strenuous workout.

"Punch it, Cy! Straight through the roof!" Beast Boy shouted as he encouraged his friend.

"Yes!" Starfire jumped in. "Inform that large mass of metal who is the supervisor!"

"Uh… go, Cyborg," Raven said, not used to cheering on her teammates.

Cyborg was encouraged by the support his friends were trying to give him, but he still felt his muscles screaming for relief. Now just standing hunched over, Cyborg was putting every bit of effort he could muster into simply keeping the mass of metal up, never mind lifting and moving it around. He dimly heard the cheers of Robin, Beast Boy, and Starfire, but his attention was fixed on his left forearm, on which was a display showing his energy output. As it reached one hundred, Cyborg felt his knees begin to give out on him.

"It's no good!" Cyborg shouted as he struggled. "Shut it down," he cried to Robin.

The excited teen refused shook his head as he brought his fists up, cheering Cyborg on. "No way, Cyborg! I won't let you quit! Come on, push!"

"I can't," Cyborg said as his muscles started shaking badly, "take any more." Unfortunately, this last word triggered the machine again, and it added yet another hundred pounds.

"Yes, you can!" Robin shouted.

The added weight was too much for Cyborg, and he felt his legs about to buckle. "No… I… _can't_," he screamed as he leapt forward, letting the two ton machine fall behind him with a tremendous crash. He lay there, panting and covered in sweat as he felt shame burning his cheek. He looked up through a sweaty glare at his leader, who was smiling at him and offered a helping hand.

"I give you a nine for the dive…but two for the landing," Beast Boy said jokingly. Cyborg got to his feet, refusing Robin's help, and walked past everyone, purposely bumping into Beast Boy on the way out. "Nobody asked you," he snapped as he kicked the doors open and let them slam behind him.

Cyborg slumped against a wall sideways, shaking with embarrassment and rage. As he tried to calm himself down, Cyborg rubbed the human side of his face with his hand. The touch of cool metal on his head did nothing to assuage his anger: it merely exacerbated it. He looked at his hand and remembered what his life had been like before he had been transformed into this mixture of nature and technology.

"Cyborg, what happened back there?" Robin asked as he pushed open the doors of the gym, anxious about his teammate's mental condition. Cyborg had failed before but he had never reacted so harshly.

"Get off my back," he snapped as he began to walk away.

Robin, undeterred, simply walked up behind Cyborg and grabbed his shoulder, forcefully spinning him around. "I'm on your side, remember? I was just trying to get you to kick it up a notch."

"I don't have another notch!" Cyborg said, his fury coming back and swallowing up his guilt over snapping at Robin. "I'm not like you, okay? When I say I can't, that means that I can't! And since I'm the one with the scanners and sensors plugged into my own body, maybe you should take my word for a change instead of insisting that you always know better!" As the other members of the team came out to see what was going on, Cyborg began to stomp down the hallway before guilt came over him once again. He sighed and leaned against the wall, slowly lowering himself until he was sitting. Everyone else walked over to him and sat down next to him, patiently awaiting the explanation.

"When I was an athlete…" Cyborg began, "when I was… human, I loved pushing my limits. I loved how I could get stronger, faster, better, just by trying harder than I ever had before. Every time I worked out, I would go until my muscles screamed for relief, but I never gave it to them. I would push myself so hard it would be all I could do some nights to crawl into bed and go to sleep. But it paid off, because I felt myself improving. Whenever I was on a team, my coaches would always tell me to give a hundred and ten percent," Cyborg explained. "And I always did," he added wistfully.

"You still can," Robin asserted.

Cyborg shook his head sadly as he stared at his hands. His face twisted into something like hatred as he looked at the metal appendages before he sighed and turned away. "My muscles are mechanical now. Limits are built in. No matter how hard I want to try, a hundred percent is all I've got. I might be stronger than I ever was before, but it came at a price: I've reached my limit. As high as I am, I can't go any higher. Some people worked out to get to a destination Robin," he said, thinking of a way to relate his feelings to the spiky-haired leader. "I never did. To me, the workout was about the journey. Not a day goes by when I don't wish I could get my old body back. I'd take it, flawed and fragile, over this shell."

"I didn't know," Robin said gently. He realized how hard it was for Cyborg to bring up his past: there was an unspoken rule about the Titans that they never discussed their past. How they got where they were now was their business. They were free to share, but no one did. Robin admired Cyborg for talking about and decided to keep quiet; thinking anything he might say could be interpreted the wrong way and set the cybernetic teen off again. He was surprised that Beast Boy also managed to keep a quiet tongue. Starfire and Raven simply stared at Cyborg with look of understanding, if Robin was reading them right.

"Well, now you do," Cyborg said shortly. They all realized he was feeling embarrassed and vulnerable, and they looked away as the six and a half foot tall teen got to his feet and walked away.

* * *

Amidst the sounds of machinery, Slade looked down at the table where his project was. He lightly picked up a delicate tool and continued working, his eye illuminated by the sparks being flown. As he put down the tool, Slade cracked his neck and looked over at a clock.

"Hmm. Only three hundred and seventy four hours: much quicker than I expected," he mused to himself. As the behemoth rose from the table, Slade picked up a computer chip and looked with satisfaction at the humanoid creature. "So, what would you like to call yourself," he asked after inserting the programming.

"Alpha."

"Alpha. Fitting. Well Alpha, go and have some fun…"

* * *

Music filled the air as the sun shined down on the park. Frisbees flew through the air as kites soared above. Laughter filled the air as the citizens of Jump City took advantage of a beautiful spring weekend. In a section of the park, the Teen Titans were joining in on the fun. Cyborg looked around at the fellow picnickers and sighed deeply, a smile of content on his face. The Titans had thought getting him outside would be good for him, and despite his failure at the gym three days ago that had continued to hang on his mind, Cyborg couldn't help but feel his spirits lift when he looked around.

"Mmm-hmm," he smiled to himself, "would you look at that. A little sunshine, a little breeze, nobody clamoring for photos; only one thing could make this day better." Cyborg pulled the top off a grill and put a large slab of meat on a plate. "Two and a half pounds of baby back ribs," he said, licking his chops. He carried his food over to a table where Robin was eagerly making his way through a pair of cheeseburgers and Starfire was slurping on a straw. Beast Boy was turning some of his vegetarian food over a grill as Raven sat comfortably under a tree with a book. She kept her cloak with her but the hood had been lowered. Every so often she would pause and look around at everyone else with almost a wistful look on her face.

"Sure turned out to be a great day," Cyborg said as he sat down. Robin simply nodded, his mouth filled. "Hey Rob, you never told us how you got the paparazzi off our tail," Cyborg said curiously, remembering the days when the Titans had been unable to go anywhere in public. While Robin might be able to disguise himself, a green teenager, android, alien, and sorceress were harder to hide.

"Simple. I told 'em if they didn't leave us alone, we'd leave," Robin said as he shrugged. "No one wanted to take that chance," he said. Cyborg whistled at the threat, wondering if the vacation Robin had scheduled a year ago had something to do with it. The police and citizens had been unusually happy to see the Titans return. He shrugged mentally, telling himself it was in the past and now the Titans could enjoy the benefits.

"Anyway, glad I did: if I hadn't we couldn't enjoy this day," Robin said.

Cyborg nodded, smiled, and began devouring the ribs, sucking his fingers to get the grease and barbeque sauce off. "Man, I love picnic food!" Cyborg exulted.

"Agreed, Cyborg," Starfire said with a large grin as she flushed from the sunlight. "This tangy yellow beverage is truly delightful," she said as she took the straw out of the bottle and began drinking straight out of the bottle. Catching the label, both boys stopped scarfing their food down and looked at her.

"Uh, Starfire," Cyborg began, not quite sure how to tell her. He looked at Robin, who had much more experience with things like this, usually being the one to explain Earth customs to the alien.

"That's mustard," the leader said with a slightly queasy look.

Starfire smiled and nodded as she hugged the large jar. "Is there more?" she asked hopefully, not noticing the boys' grossed-out looks.

Meanwhile, Beast Boy pulled one of his tofu-dogs off the grill and gave it a sniff. He smiled and licked his lips and placed it on a bun before grabbing the other one as well. "My tofu-dogs are cooked to perfection," he grinned to no one in particular. "Yo, Raven; try one," he called over to the girl under the tree. Her eyes moved from the sky over to Beast Boy as he walked over to her and held one out. "They're loaded with soybeany goodness," he tempted.

Raven ignored the food as she locked eyes with Beast Boy. "I respect that you don't eat meat," she said, reminding him that she never bothered him about tofu like Cyborg did. "Please respect that I don't eat fake meat," she asked.

Beast Boy shrugged as he walked over to the table. Raven kept her eyes on him as he went to Starfire and grabbed the mustard bottle. One furious yell and a snarl later, Beast Boy walked back over to the tree whimpering and ate his tofu-dogs away from the alien.

A while later, Cyborg picked up a football and ran out to a section of open field. "All right, y'all," he called over to the rest of the Titans. Who wants to play some foo-ball?"

Robin, Beast Boy, and Starfire ran over, eager to get into the game. They gathered around Cyborg and realized Raven wasn't there. They turned around and saw her still under the tree.

"Raven, you want to play?" Beast Boy invited.

The empathy fixed her eyes on the group and shook her head. I'll be referee," she offered.

Cyborg and Robin got on one side of the ball while Starfire and east Boy waited on the other. Cyborg waited for Robin as he called out numbers and colors. "Red, twenty-three! Hut, hut, hut!" On the third one, Cyborg hiked it back and then dashed past the defensive line, leaping clear over Beast Boy.

"One Jump City, two Jump City…" Beast Boy counted as Starfire flew after Cyborg to block him. Robin was waiting for Cyborg to get down the field far enough.

"You can run, you can fly, but you can't catch Cy!" The android laughed as he zigzagged down the field.

"Five Jump City," Beast Boy shouted as he dashed forward to tackle Robin. Robin shouted out in shock as he saw Beast Boy change into a charging triceratops. He leapt backwards, jumped onto the snout, and ran straight down the back. Robin leapt off and fired a pass downfield.

Cyborg turned around, running backwards as he aimed at Starfire, who was throwing weak starbolts to make him dodge and hit her out of the sky with a blast from his Sonic Cannon at minimum power. As he ran towards the ball, his arms outstretched, he didn't realize that his bright blue lights were starting to dim. "I got it! I got it! I-" Cyborg's cry of victory was cut off as his face froze. His entire body stopped moving and he stood completely still: hands still outstretched and feet frozen in the middle of a running stride. The football hit him in the side of his head, and Cyborg slowly toppled forward onto the grass.

The other four Titans ran over to him, calling his name and stood over their friend. Their concern turned to full-fledged worry when his mouth and normal eye closed and the red light of his eye implant winked out.

Starfire poked Cyborg in the fleshy half of his face as she called his name a few times. The red light came back on, though much dimmer than normal and the Titans, still worried, relaxed slightly.

"'Reserve Battery Activated'," sounded in Cyborg's head as the same words flashed in front of him. His eye opened and his electronic eye processed a grainy, poorly tuned version of his four teammates. "'Power Remaining 01:00:00'," flashed in his HUD and began ticking down.

"What's wrong with him?" Raven asked as she tried to probe his mind. She could sense some brain activity, but no discernable thoughts came through to her.

"Is he gonna be okay," Beast Boy asked anxiously, hating himself for not being able to help his best friend.

"Shh: I think he's coming to," Robin ordered as he saw Cyborg's human eye flickered. "Are you all right," the leader asked as he offered a hand to Cyborg. Cyborg grabbed the hand and felt four pairs of hands helping him up.

"Yeah… thanks," he grunted as his team helped him over to a chair.

"What happened," Beast Boy asked. Cyborg, though suddenly very tired, did not miss the lack of a joke.

"Something musta gone wrong with my systems," Cyborg said as he raised his forearm. He focused his mind and brought up his power readout. His left forearm brought up a screen showing a nearly drained bar graph and a timer reading 59:37. "Ah, man," Cyborg whined as he realized the problem. My power cell's dying."

"Dying!?" Starfire nearly shrieked in a panicked tone.

"It's only a battery," Cyborg explained, reassuring her. "I'm fine. Happens every several months. Just a natural part of being unnatural," he said.

"So what do we do?" Robin asked, wanting to help fix the problem.

Cyborg picked up the football and handed it to Robin. "You keep playing," he said firmly, not willing that his teammates give up the beautiful day as well. "I go home and change power cells."

"You sure you don't want help?" Beast Boy asked as he watched his friend walk away, shoulders slumped.

"Just 'cause I can't have fun doesn't mean y'all can't," Cyborg said dejectedly. As he walked down the path to the Tower, Cyborg looked in a melancholy manner at the sunny sky, the temporary shutdown weighing heavy on his mind. "Sure was a nice day," he grumbled.

"Cyborg," said an excited young voice. The android looked around, surprised. He turned around and saw a young boy about ten years old running up to him. "Whoa, it's really you!" The child said breathlessly, face flushed in excitement from meeting a superhero up close. "You're my favorite 'cause, look," the boy said grinning as he pulled off a baseball glove to expose a flesh colored prosthetic forearm and hand. "You're just like me!"

"Uh… yeah, I… I guess I am," Cyborg stuttered. He looked down at the child and wondered why he was not bitter about having lost a body limb at such a young age. He then noticed that the child had clearly modeled his arm after his hero: the arm had splashes of blue and silver paint on it. Cyborg's own outburst from the other day sobered him and he smiled at the kid. "Well, if you're just like me, let me hear a 'boo-yah!'" he grinned.

"Boo-yah" the child shouted as he mimicked Cyborg's Sonic Cannon. Cyborg smiled at the youth when a beeping caught his attention. He looked at his forearm and opened the display panel. He saw his alarm going off with the communicators of the other Titans making their way towards the crime.

"Cool," the boy breathed as he saw the intricate workings of Cyborg.

"Nice meeting you, kid, but I got butt to kick," Cyborg said before dashing off. He checked the timer again and saw he had only a little over forty-three minutes left. Cyborg closed it and shut power down to all non-essential functions of his body, giving himself some more time.

As he passed an electronics store, he glanced inside and an idea occurred to him…

* * *

Robin and the other Titans (minus Cyborg) quickly made their way over to the source of the trouble. As they rounded the corner, weapons prepared, they saw nothing. As Robin looked over the scene, he noticed a seven-foot tall and five-foot wide hole in the wall. As he peered inside, a sight of absolute destruction met his eyes. Robin stared: there wasn't anything in the store that had been left untouched. As far as he could tell, nothing had been stolen; whatever had done this seemed to be far more interested in creating destruction than with theft.

"Titans, search the place," Robin ordered as he motioned Starfire to join him.

"You have thoughts about this conundrum," the alien asked hopefully as she joined him.

"I don't get it. There was a bunch of valuable things here, but nothing was taken. Everything was just smashed. Whatever did this is either trying to intimidate us or leaving behind a hidden message," Robin ruminated aloud.

"And he's strong too," Beast Boy commented as he dragged out a steel bar twisted into a pretzel.

"Of course: Alpha is the strongest," a new voice said as it smashed its way through a wall. The Titans immediately prepared for a fight, but the creature simply stayed still, moving into the light. It was a gold and red robot, and it looked more than capable of sowing the destruction that they had seen. It charged the Titans, but simply passed them and ran down the street, knocking over signs and flipping cars and buses over.

As the Titans raced after it, they were confused about the creature's motives.

"What is this thing?" Beast Boy asked as he briefly turned human before becoming a falcon again.

"Not sure, but he's causing too much trouble: we have to bring him down," Robin confessed as he held on top Starfire's hands.

"Agreed. But I wonder, will we not simply giving him what he wants?" Starfire asked. "This 'Alpha' seems intent on proving he is stronger than anything else."

"Maybe. But robots like that don't just appear. They have to be created. We have to find out who made him, and why they set him loose," Raven reasoned as they tracked the robot to a junkyard.

They landed just as the robot grabbed a crane and began hammering away it. As it tore its way through the steel, Alpha laughed and sent the crane falling to the floor. "Pathetic machine. Alpha is more powerful than you!"

"Hope you came looking for a fight," Robin shouted as he got Alpha' attention and threw a few explosive disks. "'Cause you definitely found one!" Starfire left loose a few starbolts as Raven pelted him with her telekinetic blasts. Alpha took these attacks without even a grunt as he picked Beast Boy, who had transformed into a bull, and threw him into a wall. Beast Boy tumbled down the hill of trash and landed with a groan near Raven.

"This guy's is pretty tough," he groaned as he got to his feet. Raven said nothing save to pick up three large chunks of garbage, one of which looked like a washing machine, and threw them. Alpha charged through them and punched at Raven. She ducked under the tremendous attack while Beast Boy became a gorilla and roared at the robot, which he was now taller than. Beast Boy punched Alpha in the face, but the blow merely glanced off the metallic face. Alpha picked Beast Boy up and hefted the shape-shifter above his head, laughing. A powerful sonic blast hit him in the chest and sent him soaring through the air. Starfire hit the startled robot with a beam of energy while she tossed Robin at him. As the leader cracked his bo-staff over Alpha' head, the robot seemed not to notice. He had eyes for only Cyborg, who was standing with his Sonic Cannon pointed at Alpha.

"Cyborg? What are you doing here?" Robin asked from across the junkyard.

"Joinin' in," the teen said as he walked towards the group. "Now who said y'all could start the party without me," he said with a smile and a wink. Alpha roared and charged for Cyborg, who flipped over the giant robot and sent him charging into a shield of Raven's energy.

"Go home," Robin said as he took out a birdarang. "Get fixed; we can handle this without you."

"I won't let you guys fight alone," Cyborg said stubbornly as he readied his Sonic Cannon again.

"And I won't let you put yourself in danger," Robin countered.

"I got it covered," Cyborg said, turning around to show Robin a few high voltage batteries wired to each other and himself. "External battery pack," he explained with a grin. "_Teen Titans, go_!" the android shouted before Robin could protest.

Alpha smashed his way through Raven's shield and grabbed the girl. He sneered at her as she struggled in his grip before Starfire and Beast Boy tackled him physically, the latter as a gorilla again. Alpha got up and shrugged the two off him before Robin came at him with a double kick. Alpha caught the teen by the shins and smashed him into the alien and changeling. Cyborg leapt in with his fist outstretched, but Alpha snatched him out of the air and forced him into a drum barrel. The robot laughed heartily as he knocked over Cyborg and kicked him into Raven, who wasn't able to react quickly enough and was bowled over. Cyborg blasted his way out of the barrel and tackled Alpha.

As the two robots hit the ground, Alpha shoved Cyborg away, and the robot looked down at the android. "Alpha will fight you," he said as he readied himself. "Alpha will prove to be the better fighter."

"You do _not_ want to start with me today, man," Cyborg cautioned as he converted his cannon back to a fist. "Especially not just to prove your better."

"Alpha never loses," the robot said as he glared at Cyborg, his mind focused on one thing alone.

"First time for everything," Cyborg replied with a grin. Alpha roared and charged Cyborg, bringing his fists up just before he reached him. As his large fists smashed down, they cracked the ground and would have sent Cyborg stumbling back, had he not already leapt over the attack. As Cyborg landed, he pushed off the ground and rocketed at Alpha, hitting him with a volley of body blows. Alpha staggered back from the attack before finally catching one of Cyborg's fists in his own. Cyborg struggled to get free but Alpha's grip was too strong. The robot grinned sinisterly down at Cyborg before bringing his other fist up and delivering a crushing blow to the side of Cyborg's face.

As the two fought, Cyborg realized that he was going to need backup quickly. He knew how to fight better, having taken boxing, wrestling, and grappling while in school, but Alpha was much stronger than Cyborg could afford to be in his weakened condition. As he leapt back to dodge a hook punch, Cyborg leapt up and tried to kick Alpha in the face. Alpha quickly grabbed Cyborg out of the air and smashed him into the ground. Cyborg struggled to get up when Alpha seized his arm and threw him into a wall. Stunned again, Cyborg could not react in time to avoid being grabbed a third time and smashed into the ground. Alpha raised one foot and smashed it into Cyborg's chest, sending his body through the floor into a hole below the ground. As he sat up and groaned, rubbing his head, a loud beeping caught his attention and he looked at his power supply. His face paled when he saw his external power backpack lying away from his a few feet away. Knowing he had at best only a few seconds, Cyborg leapt for the outside world ten feet away and barely made it. As his hand caught the ledge, his system shut down and he hung there for a few seconds before his grip slipped and he tumbled back down into the cavern.

Meanwhile, the other four Titans were just getting up. They looked up to see Alpha with a large object slung around his shoulders.

"Fools," Alpha laughed before he ran off. "Alpha never loses."

Robin looked around and tried to locate Cyborg, but he could not see him anywhere.

"Titans: he's got Cyborg!" the leader cried, galvanizing the other Titans into action.

As the Teen Titans rushed after Alpha, they were unaware their comrade lay not twenty feet away in a pile of rubble. In the darkness, a pale hand motioned towards the deactivated android. Small robots made their way over to Cyborg and picked him up, pulling him into the darkness…

* * *

Minutes later, the Teen Titans were scouring the town, but could find no trace of the robot.

"So, what was that all about," Beast Boy asked as they made their way back to the tower.

"Not sure," Robin confessed. "But we can't let Alpha get away with Cyborg."

"But _why_ did he kidnap Cyborg in the first place," Raven asked as she flew beside them. "He didn't steal anything else. He didn't even seem interested in _us_ until we put up a fight."

"Yeah, it's like Star said: he just seemed interested in proving he was stronger," Beast Boy agreed.

"But why?" the alien asked.

"Maybe he's got a Napoleon complex," Beast Boy joked.

"Except that he's seven feet tall," Raven reminded him.

"It still doesn't make any sense," Robin said to himself. "Even if he wanted a fight, why would Alpha want to take Cyborg?" Robin said, his mind already focusing on the tasks ahead. "Beast Boy, I want you to comb the scene of the crime. See if you can find anything that came off him and then see if you can find a scent. Raven, I need you to search the city and see if you can detect anything that might be a robot's thinking or Cyborg's. Starfire-"

"And what kind of scent could I get off of _metal_," Beast Boy asked indignantly.

"And how do you expect me to find Cyborg in a city of _eight million_? Face it Robin: we have no way to track Alpha. We have to wait until he attacks somewhere again," Raven told him as they took off again. Robin frowned but did not contradict the girl.

As they reached the Tower, Robin went inside and went up to his room. He stood over a table and began to think. The door opened behind him and he saw the shadow of Starfire come up behind him. Robin looked at a map of Jump City, tracing the route from the store Alpha had wrecked to the Junkyard, and from there possible escape routes, trying to find a connection between them.

"Robin, you must relax," Starfire said as she placed a hand on his shoulders. She frowned when he did not respond, his muscles tensing up even more than they were already. Starfire did not know much about human physiology, but she knew the kind of stress Robin was placing on himself was unhealthy.

"I lost him, Starfire," the leader said as he put his head on his hands and groaned. "He's one of the team, and one of my best friends, and I lost him. He's out there somewhere, almost out of power, and it's my fault."

"It is all right Robin: we do not hold you responsible," Starfire said in a soothing voice.

"But I am responsible. I let him get involved in that fight. I should have forbidden him, or came back here with him while he changed power cells so I could have restrained him, or-"

"He was malfunctioning. He should not have tried to help," Starfire reminded him, thinking it would make Robin feel better.

"I tried to stop him," Robin whispered, his tone almost like that of a child, "but he's Cyborg."

"Shh," Starfire said as she wrapped her arms around Robin's shoulders. She floated the two of them over to his bed and rubbed his shoulders as he just sat there. After a few minutes he looked up and gave a feeble smile at Starfire.

"You always know how to make me feel better, don't you," he said softly.

"You put too much on yourself Robin," she said. "You are not perfect, nor do we expect you to be. When you make a mistake, we deal with it, and we know that you will do your best to fix it."

Robin smiled and opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by an alarm. "We found Alpha," Raven's voice said over the intercom. "Transmitting his location now." The Titans quickly left the tower and made their way to another store that had reported the large mechanized terror.

* * *

"Online… Charging…" sounded in Cyborg's head as the same words flashed across his vision. He groaned as he opened his eyes and a horizontal band of white light crossed the middle of his robotic eye before widening to fill the entire view. His human eye opened and shut quickly as he saw bright overhead lights. He extended his hand to blot out some of the light and moaned.

A male spoke from the darkness in a very level almost monotonic tone: "You are operational." Cyborg looked around and tried to activate his night vision, but it was still shut down. The speaker moved from the darkness into the light and Cyborg got a good look at his rescuer: a tall android figure enveloped in a long robe that was similar to Raven, sans hood and black. His entire body was hidden except his face, which was flat and angular with two glowing blue slits for eyes. Instead of hair, circuit pathways covered his scalp, and his skin was the pale color of one who hasn't seen the sunlight in a very long time. The man spoke again as Cyborg took in his appearance. "That is good." Cyborg looked down at his chest and saw a series of wires plugged into him.

"What's going-"

"Rest, friend," the android said as he placed a hand on Cyborg's forehead. "Your new power cell is not fully charged."

"Who are you?" Cyborg asked as he stifled a yawn. He was exhausted but he knew he had to make sure he was safe before he slept: his body was in too weak a condition to fight again. "I am called Fixit," the machine said as he walked away from Cyborg. "You were broken. I brought you here to be fixed," he explained.

"Where's 'here'?" Cyborg asked as his drowsiness nearly overtook him.

"Please, rest. All will be explained when you awakened," Fixit said. Unable to find any deception in his voice or manner, Cyborg leaned his head back and closed his eye, his weary mind desperate for sleep.

* * *

As the other Titans made their way to the disturbance, they saw a series of craters and broken walls. "I'll say this much for Alpha: he's easy to follow," Beast Boy kidded. No one else laughed as followed the most likely path the villain had taken.

A few minutes later, they found Alpha, who still had the large object slung around his back. "Titans, get him!" Robin shouted as they quickly attacked the robot. Alpha laughed as he dodged most of their attacks, keeping his hostage around his back while firing his own cannon at the Titans.

"Humans provide no challenge," Alpha sneered as he took off what was behind his back and ripped it in two. All movement stopped as the Titans looked on in horror, expecting to see blood gush from Cyborg's organs being ruptured. As he threw the item at them, they dodged and waited, terrified of what they might find. As they walked over to the object, they were relieved to see it was only a steel girder that had been bent and twisted around. They turned around to see Alpha with both his arms extended, the twin cannons charging up. As he fired, Raven erected a shield and struggled to keep the team centered. As Alpha increased his power, Raven let the shield's anchorage drop and the Titans went soaring back, unstable but protected.

"No challenge at all," he smirked before stomping down another block.

* * *

Cyborg woke up again, this time feeling recharged and ready to move around. He sat up and flipped open his display panel in his arm again. He received a pleasant surprise when he saw that he was recharged and back to full power.

"Charging is complete," Cyborg heard and recognized the tone as Fixit's. He turned to his right as he saw the android reveal himself from the shadows again. "The new power cell is functioning properly," he said, and Cyborg could tell from the tone that it was not a question but rather a statement. He still decided to treat it as a question as he stood up from the table and stretched his back, sighing as he felt some of his back tissue stretch. He cracked his neck; enjoying hearing the vertebrae pop slightly as he rolled his head around.

"Yeah," Cyborg said with a smile as he stood up from the table. He flexed his biceps a couple of times as the cables plugged into his back detached themselves. "I'm feeling better," he said as two robots came near him and began scanning his body over with some infrared lights. "Lots better," he said, smiling at his benefactor to show it was a compliment.

Fixit did not smile or acknowledge Cyborg's gratitude in anyway except as a fact. "Of course you are. I am Fixit." He walked over to a pile of junk and began sifting through it. "Things come to me broken. I make fixes," he continued as he picked up a piece of machinery. "You came to me broken, and I made fixes to you," Fixit said as he studied the part. "Let me see…" he said as he began picking up the objects, studying them, and then releasing them. Cyborg stared as he saw the objects did not fall but remained hovering around his head. Cyborg waited for Fixit to say something else. But all he heard was Fixit's mutterings. "Yes… yes… hmm… pity… interesting… the damage is too extensive… perhaps if we can find another processor…"

"Well, thanks… for everything," Cyborg said as he waved goodbye and began to leave.

Fixit stopped immediately and the components he had suspended in midair hit the ground. He turned around and advanced across the chamber towards Cyborg. When he spoke, there was a new note of urgency in his voice. "You _cannot_ leave," he said as a few of his robotic companions turned towards Cyborg.

Cyborg turned and looked at Fixit. Despite what Fixit said, there was no hostility in the tone, and so Cyborg was confused rather than threatened. "I can't?" he said, hoping for clarification.

"You are not fixed," Fixit said as his voice returned to normal, "…not fully."

"I'm not?" he said, confused. He brought up a display in his HUD, but his general diagnostic sensors didn't register any problems.

"My examination revealed many flaws," Fixit said. "Serious flaws," he added as he narrowed his eyes.

"Serious?" Cyborg said, his tone turning fearful. He began running more specific scans as he turned towards the cybernetic medic. "How serious? What's wrong with me?"

"There is no cause for alarm," Fixit said as he held up a reassuring hand. "More fixes are needed. More fixes will be made."

"But- I feel fine," Cyborg said to himself as he turned towards Fixit. "Are you sure I'm-"

"Quite," Fixit said in a firm tone. "Will you remain? It is for the best," he said. Cyborg considered. Fixit had repaired him without demanding anything in return. His computers couldn't detect anything that had been introduced to his programming, and his human brain couldn't sense anything different with his thinking. And Fixit had even offered to make more repairs, but hadn't pushed himself on Cyborg, asking him instead. On the other hand, Cyborg wanted to find Alpha and get into another fight, but if he wasn't functioning at full power, would he still be able to defeat him?

"Well… I guess," he said reluctantly, deciding that he would need all his power to stop Alpha. He opened his forearm panel and brought up a communicator link, turning away from Fixit. "Lemme just tell my friends where I am." With his back turned to Fixit, he did not notice that the android's eyes had turned red. All that Cyborg noticed was when the display panel for his built-in communicator opened it was garbled beyond recognition. "Whoa," he exclaimed, his eye opening in alarm and surprise. "Something really _is_ wrong with me."

"Rest now," Fixit said as he put a hand on Cyborg's shoulders. When Cyborg turned toward him, Fixit's eyes were glowing blue again. "You may contact your friends later." Cyborg climbed up on the table as Fixit laid a hand on his forehead. "I am sure they are not too concerned," he said in a reassuring tone.

Cyborg looked up at this strange man and muttered "maybe they should be," so softly that Fixit could not hear him…

* * *

Robin snarled as he saw Alpha arrive at a dock and begin tearing things apart. He took out his bo-staff and Starfire flung him at the robot with a yell. Alpha looked up just in him to get Robin's bo-staff jabbed into one of his eyes. He roared in pain as Starfire fired a barrage of starbolts at him combined with Raven's telekinetic blasts. The girls paused enough for Beast Boy to ram into the robot as an ox and push him into some wet cement. As the robot got bogged down in the sludge, Robin leaned in with a menacing glare.

"Where. Is. Cyborg?" he snarled. Alpha stopped struggling for a moment and looked at the human.

"What are you talking about, human? Alpha does not know this 'Cyborg'."

"The other one of us. The one that has the cannon," Robin roared.

"Oh, that one. Yes, where is this 'Cyborg'? He was the only one who came close to matching Alpha's strength. I must find him and beat him to prove that Alpha is more powerful."

"What do you mean," Robin asked, not quite believing the robot didn't know Cyborg's location.

"You kidnapped him from the junkyard," Raven accused as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Why would Alpha take a trophy," the robot asked, his tone expressing genuine confusion.

"Wait a second…" Beast Boy said as he rubbed his head, trying to figure it all out, "if Cy's not with Alpha, then he must be… back at the junkyard!" He exclaimed, the other three Titans joining in with the last four words. As they raced off, Alpha freed himself from the concrete and began following them; eager for a rematch with the only other person he had found who could compete with him in strength.

* * *

Cyborg sat on Fixit's table as the returns of all his diagnostics ran through his mind. "I don't get it; all my sensors say I'm fine," he said as he rubbed his head.

Fixit approached Cyborg with a couple of tool floating around his head. "Your sensors are incomplete," he said as he hooked a couple of wires up to Cyborg's shoulders and chest. "Mine are more… precise."

Cyborg gave a nervous laugh as he laid back and took a deep breath. "Guess I'm just getting kinda nervous, you know," he said, trying to spark a conversation. Fixit's eyes and face remained impassive as he directed some tools onto a tray and got more. "How long am I gonna be down here, anyway," Cyborg asked anxiously, knowing that he didn't want to be out of the fight against Alpha too much longer.

"Fixes could take some time," Fixit said as he came back with two more tools. A cable descended from above Cyborg's table and Fixit plugged it into the center of his forehead. "Besides, why would you want to leave?" Fixit asked as he the cable began to glow red. "Look around you, look at yourself: you belong with us."

"No, I don't," Cyborg said quickly. He smiled at Fixit to show that he had not meant it in an insulting manner. "I mean, you've got a nice place here and you've been really cool to me, but…I couldn't live down here," he said as he looked around the place. "I don't know how you can," he said in a sad tone.

"What do you mean?" Fixit asked in a perplexed tone. "The power supply is adequate; replacement parts are easy to find-"

"I need more than that!" Cyborg exclaimed, trying to make the android see that he was not all robot. "What about sunlight? What about fresh air? What about _food_?"

"I do not require these things," Fixit said as the cable disconnected. "And when fixes are complete…" he said, as he began walking away, "… neither will you," he finished, his words ringing ominously in Cyborg's mind.

Cyborg got up and pulled the plugs hooked into his body out. "You know what? I'm feeling all right now," he said kindly but firmly. "So thanks anyway, but I'm just gonna go," he said as he got up, turned his back on Fixit and began to walk away.

Fixit turned from his work and put more urgency and command into his voice than when Cyborg first had tried to leave. "Stay." As Fixit's eyes glowed red again, a couple of dozen small robots moved into his way and blocked his path.

"Yo, what are you-" Cyborg's protest was cut short as one of the robots extended an arm and grabbed his wrist. "Hey, lemme go!" Cyborg struggled as his other arm was grabbed too. Spark plugs emerged from the tops of the robots and began to charge up. As a stream of electricity streamed through Cyborg's systems, the human half of his mind began to become disorientated. As he slumped to the ground, Cyborg struggled weakly against some steel binders that were placed around his torso.

Fixit looked at the moaning android with a detached expression on his face as he gestured to the table where Cyborg had jest been lying. The table tilted until it was nearly vertical, and Cyborg was carried over to it and placed on it. "Fixes are not yet complete," Fixit repeated as he gazed at Cyborg impassively. "Your biological components are imperfect…" Fixit declared, sending a jolt of fear through Cyborg. "… and they must be replaced." Fixit motioned towards a door, which hissed open.

On a support frame was an array of secondhand robotic parts- enough to replace every remaining biological portion of Cyborg's body. Cyborg let his eye rove over the parts, seeing a right side of the skull, a bicep, a thigh, hips and stomach, part of a lower leg, portions of a back, and other pieces. He locked his human eye with the right robotic eye, picturing it on his face. "No," Cyborg whispered in a horrified tone. He just lay there, not struggling, as Fixit walked up to the parts and began putting the finishing touches on them. A mask descended from the ceiling and latched onto Cyborg's face and his world went dark…

* * *

As the Titans arrived at the park, Robin ordered them to fan out and search. As Robin started rooting through trash piles big enough to hide Cyborg's frame, Beast Boy changed to a bloodhound and began rooting through where Cyborg had come to help to pick up his trail, while Starfire observed from above and Raven sat and meditated, trying to find some sort of Cyborg's consciousness remaining.

"Hey, I found him," she said with her eyes still closed. The other Titans rushed over to her as she pointed down and to their left. "I can feel him. He's still alive, but his mind seems… tense. And afraid. I don't know what's going on, but we need to get to him."

Robin nodded and took out a small wire from his utility belt. He placed it on the ground in a circle and stepped back as he ran a small electric current through it. The wire detonated, cleaving a hole through the ground. "Beast Boy, check it out," the leader said as they stood on the edge. The green Titan didn't even make a joke; he simply nodded and turned into a bat before flying down the hole. Using echolocation, he realized the cavern floor was only about ten feet deep and he let everyone know this when he had reached the bottom.

As the other Titans joined Beast Boy, they looked around for any clues that would tell them where Cyborg had gone. "Found his battery pack," Robin said as he held up the mangled batteries that were wired together. "He must be somewhere close by," he deduced as they continued walking. As they walked further from the hole where sunlight streamed in, the cavern got darker and darker. "Star, can you give us some light?" Robin asked as they continued on their way. Starfire lifted one of her hands and charged up a starbolt, substituting it for a torch. The Titans looked around for any trace of their metallic friend as they advanced into the gloom…

* * *

Cyborg came out of the sleep he was in and tried to open his eyes. He struggled to open his right eye when a voice sounded throughout his systems as the same words flashed across his vision. "Biological components removed. Repairs complete." A flash of fear shot through Cyborg's system.

"Awaken, friend," Fixit said with a happy tone in his voice. "Awaken and see your new face."

Cyborg's vision flickered and flashed into view. He looked down at his hands and saw they were the same as they had always been. Despite the signs he had received, Cyborg dared to hope that he was still partly human. He tried to sigh in relief, but realized that he could not. He tried to gasp and then simply breathe, but it was impossible for him now.

To breathe required lungs.

Cyborg dashed to a mirror and gazed in horror at his new body. Every scrap, every last vestige of his human body was gone, replaced by a new robotic part. He rubbed a hand against his new face disbelievingly before sinking to his knees, drowning in despair. As he tried to cry, or even convulse, Cyborg's anguish turned to rage and he stood up. He smashed his fist through the mirror and screamed in fear as he tumbled through it. As he fell, Cyborg saw the organs and other parts of his human body swirl around him. He watched the flesh rot off the bones before the bones disintegrated and he hit the floor. He staggered to his feet and looked around. He saw the Titans sitting at a pizza parlor.

"Guys, look what happened to me," he said as he walked up to them. All four of the Titans looked at him, puzzled.

"Um… how are you again?" Robin asked politely but confusedly.

"It's me… its Cyborg," the robot said, hoping his friends would see past his new face.

"You cannot be our friend Cyborg. Our friend Cyborg is only half machine, and you are all," Starfire said as she looked at him.

"No guys, it's really me. Raven, read my mind: you'll know that I'm not lying."

The dark telepath looked at Cyborg like he was crazy. "I can't pick up any thoughts off a machine. That's all you are."

"But… but I was changed into this," Cyborg said as he sank to his knees. "BB, don't you remember how I used to eat meat in front of you just to tick you off?"

"Um… dude… you can't eat meat. You can't eat anything. _You're just a robot_!" Beast Boy said as the Titans gave Cyborg a pitying look before leaving.

"Poor thing. He really needs to be reprogrammed," Robin said as they walked away.

Cyborg screamed in rage and fear and his eyes snapped open. He took a deep breath and almost cried in relief when he felt the air enter his nostrils.

"Do not be afraid," Fixit said calmly as he stopped working on the new parts for Cyborg and walked over to the android. "You were dreaming. Dreams can cause undue anxiety, and sleep will not be necessary once fixes are complete."

Cyborg remembered the very real danger he was in as he started to struggle against the steel band that held him down.

"What if I don't want to be repaired? What if I like me this way?"

"Such thoughts come from your imperfect biological components," Fixit said as he resumed his work on the parts. "They will be replaced momentarily," he said as he finished the touches on the new mask for Cyborg.

"Not if I can help it," Cyborg vowed to himself as he concentrated. The tip of his middle finger popped off and began walking around the steel bands. As he zoomed in, Cyborg saw the imperfections in the steel and focused his strength there. As he applied strength to the micro-cracks, they began to stretch and break. Cyborg continued struggling quietly, hoping to be able to escape while Fixit was preoccupied.

Just as Cyborg was almost free, he saw Fixit stand to his full heights and turn around. "I am ready. We will begin now," the android declared.

"Perfect timing," Cyborg grumbled as he decided to break through the weakened bands with brute force. He let out a yell and burst free from his restraints before running for the door. Fixit's eyes glowed red and the door sealed itself in response. Cyborg gasped as he reached the door and smashed his fist against it. The door gave a little, but Cyborg knew he wouldn't be able to smash his way through in time to avoid being captured again. "I didn't want to have to do this, but…" he left the end of his sentence unfinished as he reconfigured his arm into the Sonic Cannon. He aimed at Fixit, restraining the strength so it would only blast him back without doing any long-term damage, but the weapon fizzled out as only a wisp of smoke appeared. Cyborg looked at it disbelievingly.

Fixit advanced towards him, his eyes red again. "Your defensive systems have been disabled for the procedure," he explained. "They will be reactivated when fixes are complete." Cyborg snarled at him and charged, but a gesture from Fixit sent several metal tentacles snaking down from the ceiling. They caught Cyborg just before he got close enough to tackle Fixit. More tentacles extended from the old table and began to pull Cyborg back towards it. Cyborg activated treads on his boots that would give him better traction and he began to slowly make his way towards Fixit. More tentacles grabbed at him and Cyborg struggled until his arm started to beep. He glanced at it and saw that he was exerting one-hundred percent of his power in trying to escape. He made one desperate bid for freedom, managed to close his hand around Fixit's cloak, and pulled it away.

Cyborg sucked in a shocked gasp as he saw a jumble of internal organs heavily interwoven with cables and switches. There was even a small, fully jointed robotic arm that protected a small beating organ that Cyborg assumed had at one point been a heart. Fixit simply looked at Cyborg with seemingly no trace of anger or embarrassment at having had his innards exposed. "The biological malfunctions are growing worse," he said as Cyborg was yanked back to the table and restrained. "We must begin at once…"

* * *

"This is pointless," Robin snarled in frustration as they wandered around the cavern.

"I admit, Robin, it does feel like we have been here before," Starfire said as she looked around at the dark surroundings.

"Sorry I can't pinpoint him Robin: my powers only give me a general sense of where he is," Raven said.

"Guys, let's go back to the battery pack. Maybe I can pick up a scent off there," Beast Boy suggested as the continued walking.

"Does anyone remember where it is?" Robin asked as he thought the idea over.

"Shouldn't it be over by the sunlight," Beast Boy asked as he jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. The Titans nodded and retraced their steps to the battery pack. Beast Boy transformed into a bloodhound and began moving in a straight line after tracing Cyborg's scent…

* * *

Cyborg struggled against his bonds but this time Fixit had tied him down much more securely. As he wriggled his body, trying to get some leverage, he saw Fixit come over to him and pull out the replacement parts. The table tilted back until Cyborg was lying down and Fixit gathered a few of his tools. He held them above his head and grabbed one that began to spark. He leaned down and began to apply it to Cyborg's skin. Cyborg screamed as the electricity ran through his flesh, shocking his nervous system and stunning him. His hand twitched convulsively as Fixit began to dig the tool in.

A crash from the door barely caught Cyborg's attention, stunned and disoriented as he was. Fixit, on the other hand, whipped around, his robe showing part of his exposed organs, to see what the disturbance was. Robin was standing in the center with a birdarang in his hand, ready to fight. Raven's eyes were glowing white as Starfire prepared a pair of starbolts. Beast Boy crouched next to Robin, not sure what to do but ready nonetheless.

"Guys, get me out of here!" Cyborg shouted, knowing that his friends would do anything they could to help him. The Titans immediately rushed at Fixit, who merely stood there. As his eyes glowed red, the entire floor began to glow white. Robin and Beast Boy were stunned and driven to the floor when electricity ran through the floor. Starfire immediately stopped and turned to Robin while Raven growled and levitated a few objects to throw at Fixit. The tentacles that had restrained Cyborg now snaked down again and wrapped themselves around Raven and Starfire, shocking them as well. Starfire cried out and fell to the floor from the current and was hit from the one still going through the floor. Raven barely managed to keep herself aloft, struggling to keep her objects levitated to throw at Fixit when the tentacles pushed her to the floor and she finally collapsed.

Cyborg looked on his horror as his friend began twitching and lost consciousness. He felt the terror that had been stilled when his friends had arrived wash over him again as he realized there was now nothing to prevent Fixit from his insidious intentions. As Fixit walked over to Cyborg again, for the first time Cyborg heard frustration in the android's voice. "I hope these interruptions are at an end. We must fix the biological malfunctions before they become any worse."

Cyborg tried to struggle again but knew it was useless. As Fixit bent over him again, another explosion drew both of their attentions. Cyborg saw Fixit glare for the first time as his eyes glowed red again and sent the electricity streaming up and down the floors. A laugh that sounded very familiar came from a hulking that was now obscured by the smoke filling the hole. Alpha stepped through the hole, his body absorbing the electricity. Three strides brought him up to Fixit, whose eyes were blue with shock.

"Alpha demands a fight with this robot! Release him!" Alpha roared as he stared down Fixit.

"I am _not_ a robot!" Cyborg protested indignantly, but both of them ignored him.

"I will not release him. Not yet: he will be done when fixes are-" Fixit was swatted across the room with a brush of Alpha's hand as the robot quickly ripped Cyborg free of the restraints and threw the android across the room. Cyborg let out a shout as he tumbled through the air and smashed through the wall. He wearily got to his feet as Alpha came charging through the hole after him. Cyborg rolled to his side to avoid a punch before pushing himself up and using his arms to propel himself into the air. His feet touched a wall and he kicked off, launching himself at Alpha.

Alpha let out a kick that caught Cyborg right in the stomach and rotated his torso as he slammed into the floor.

"Come now, robot," Alpha taunted as he scooped Cyborg up and threw him into a wall again. "Where is your strength? Perhaps I need to motivate you," he laughed as Cyborg got up. Alpha began to charge at the fallen Titans, provoking Cyborg into a rage. He got to his feet and tackled Alpha. As the two metal bodies scrapped across the floor, Cyborg used the momentum to get to his feet and hefted Alpha over his shoulders and into a table. The robot got up laughing as Cyborg charged in, his right hand turning into his Sonic Cannon. Alpha braced for the weapon to fire, but just as last time, it fizzled out and died a moment before Cyborg reached him. Cyborg looked at his weapon in dismay as Alpha picked him up and threw him into the ground. Cyborg rolled away again and began working his circuits, trying to repair the problem. He kept his head down as he ducked underneath furniture to stay hidden. Alpha turned one arm into a cannon and began blasting tables and other objects out of the way to find the wayward robot.

"Come on, just give me a few more seconds," Cyborg muttered to himself as he focused his mind inwards and began going through his security files.

As he began to access his weapons protocol, he heard movement from behind him and peeked out to see Beast Boy charging Alpha. The robot laughed as he took out the green bull with a single punch. "Humans provide no challenge," Alpha sneered as Beast Boy fell to the floor, unconscious once more. "No challenge at all," Alpha reiterated as he put his foot above the green teenagers head and prepared to stomp down. Cyborg accessed his weapons and quickly fired his Sonic Cannon at full power. The force of the blast caused Alpha to stumble forward and drop to one knee. He quickly turned around and launched one shot from his own gun that went directly into the muzzle of the Sonic Cannon. Cyborg looked in disbelief at his damaged weapon and began to charge, but Alpha held up a hand to stop him.

"Hold. Alpha _will_ defeat you. But later, in a fair fight," he said as he looked down at Cyborg. "No weapons," he said as he looked to the damaged Sonic Cannon, "and no friends," he said, motioning his hand to the fallen Titans.

"No!" Cyborg shouted as he advanced a step. "We finish this _now_!"

"As you wish," Alpha said as he turned his hand into a cannon again and pointed it at Beast Boy. The muzzle began to glow red, and Cyborg saw that Alpha was willing to make the second stipulation of their fair fight a reality wither way.

"Wait," he said, causing Alpha to pause. "Fine. When and where?"

"The old stadium at the far east side of town," Alpha said as he extended his other hand. As he powered up his weapon and fired, Cyborg let out a shout of protest. The unconscious people were now encased in an energy shield. Alpha walked over to it and picked it up as he turned to Cyborg again. "Arrive at five p.m., if you dare, and I will let you have your friends back," he said as he began walking away with the four Titans and Fixit in tow.

Cyborg returned to the tower around noon and set to work on fixing his Sonic Cannon. When he was done, he double checked all his systems, freed his access to his weapons system, and removed the inhibitors Fixit had placed on his strengths for the procedure. As he strode out of his room, Cyborg passed by the gym again. He glanced inside and saw the training sled. His failure from the other day gnawed at him, and Cyborg felt his confidence drop slightly. He shook his head and exited the tower, making his way to the stadium.

* * *

Alpha sat in the stadium on a large throne-like chair that had been made out of twisted metal. He kept his eye focused on the door on the other side of the stadium as the Teen Titans stood inside his barrier. Alpha had been impressed that they had been able to crack the shield, but he had continued to repair it as they took breaks.

"You can't hold us here forever," Robin snarled as he glared at Alpha.

"Do not be a sore loser, human," Alpha responded as he kept his eyes on the door, waiting to see if Cyborg would appear. "Alpha is better than you. Better than all."

Starfire's eyes glowed green with her anger as she clenched her jaw. "You are nothing but a… a… _Zolwarg Tubek-Plixing Zordmorker_," she shouted.

"Yeah!" Beast Boy chimed in as he sat down sulking. "What she said."

"Watch your tone!" Alpha said as he got up and stared at Starfire. "Alpha is the greatest. He deserves your respect."

The two glared at each other for a few moments before Raven chimed in with her usual sarcasm. "So… do we get bathroom breaks?"

"What are bathrooms, and how may I break them?" Alpha asked as he looked at the telepath. Every one in the shield stopped moving and stared at Alpha, each wondering how to explain to a robot how human bodily processes worked.

"Yo, Goldilocks!" came a voice from the stadium. Everyone turned to see Cyborg coming in from the entrance at the other end of the stadium. He walked unhurriedly to the middle of the field and stared at Alpha, every motion of his body conveying toughness. As he stopped he jerked his head from side to side, cracking his neck as he did the same with his knuckles. "Let's do this!" he said simply.

"I did not think you would come," Alpha taunted as he began walking out to meet Cyborg. "Humans scare so easily," he said smugly.

"I'm only half human," Cyborg said indignantly as he pointed to himself with his thumb.

"And half of nothing, is still… nothing," Alpha said dismissively. He raised a forearm and began switching lights off. Cyborg figured each light stood for a different weapons system as his scanner showed less power going to the arms. "I want a fair fight, human, so I shall willingly forgo my arsenal."

"While you're at it why don't you shut off your big fat mouth?" Cyborg shouted, getting sick of Alpha's taunts that were directly at him and his friends.

Alpha took off with a roar of rage towards Cyborg and Cyborg matched him as he charged the robot in turn. Alpha dipped under a hook punch and rammed Cyborg in the chest with his shoulder. Cyborg grunted as Alpha picked up him and threw him into the old seats. Cyborg got up with an angry growl and saw Alpha barreling straight up the steps. A metal fist slammed in to Cyborg's chest and sent him flying backward through a wall of the crumbling stadium. Cyborg flexed his fingers on his left hand, turning it into a grappling hook. As he tumbled to the ground, he fired it up and latched it onto a wall. He hauled himself up and struck Alpha in the chest with both hands.

Alpha went soaring back and landed on his back. Cyborg leapt from the steps and landed with both legs into Alpha's chest. The two robots sank into the ground from the force and weight of the attack.

"Yeah!" Robin cheered as he watched the fight.

"All right, Cy," Beast Boy encouraged as he pumped a fist into the air.

"Kick the butt," Starfire shouted. Raven stayed silent as she continued watching. She knew the only chance they had of escaping was for Cyborg to beat Alpha into submission: the shield, even when Alpha was not focusing on it, continued to replenish itself. It seemed to block her powers from extending outside the field, and she did not want to test sending her consciousness outside, unsure if she would be hurt.

Alpha pushed Cyborg off of him and the two robots circled each other, their hands up in boxing stances. Cyborg ducked under a roundhouse punch and fired a string of body blows. Alpha grunted as the blows came in and caught one. He whisked Cyborg off his feet and flung him down hard. As Cyborg's body sank into the ground, he tried to raise himself. He knew that Alpha would continue to inflict these kinds of blows and stop him from attacking. Sure enough, Alpha yanked him up and hurled him into the far wall. Cyborg fell to all fours after his body came out of the wall. Alpha rushed in, unwilling to give the biomechanical teen a breather. Cyborg looked up and saw a broad grin on the robot's face. This taunting look was all it took to get him fired up again and Cyborg leapt to his feet with a loud growl and moved in fast. Their clash erupted great dust clouds, obscuring the view of the two from the view of the other Titans.

As the dust cleared, they saw the two mechanical fighters locked in a test of strength. Alpha continued putting on the pressure; slowly pushing Cyborg back and making his feet grind the dirt. Cyborg's face, twisted up with the strain, glanced at his power readout and panicked when he saw it was maxed out again. Alpha glanced at it and laughed as he relaxed slightly, keeping Cyborg at his limit. "It seems you have reached your limit," Alpha taunted. "But Atlas has power to spare," he said as he began to increase his strength again.

Cyborg was forced to his knees and used every remaining wisp of his strength to stand again. Alpha raised his fist and one final punch found its mark on his jaw. Cyborg grunted and flew back in a graceless arc. The Titans stared bug-eyed while Fixit remained impassive.

"He lost," he said with no emotion. "Perhaps he would have not have had fixed taken place."

Cyborg hit the dirt face first and tried weakly to get upright. Alpha put his foot on Cyborg's back, angering the teen at this sign of submission. "No one defeats Atlas," he said as he looked down at Cyborg. "No one."

As humiliating as it was, Cyborg tried to comfort himself with the fact that he had given it all he had. "Fine," he growled through grit teeth. "You win," he conceded. "Now let my friends go."

"No," Alpha said as he walked away. This one word caught everyone but Fixit by surprise.

"But," Cyborg protested as he got up on all fours, "…you said that-"

"Your friends will remain as my trophies," Alpha said as he sat down again. "And there is nothing you can do about it," he taunted.

"Starfire gasped as Beast Boy pounded on the sphere. "Cyborg," he said in a pleading tone.

"Please," Raven said, trying to encourage him.

"Get up, Cyborg! Get up and fight! You can still beat him," Robin yelled. Trying to put it as an order in the hope Cyborg would listen to him.

Cyborg, still on the ground, looked wearily toward the group for a moment and then turned his face away. He looked at his forearm panel, still showing maximum power on all fronts. "No. I can't," he said in a remorseful tone.

"Fool, Did you actually believe you could defeat Atlas? I am all robot…" Alpha said as he pushed a button, causing the seat and the energy sphere to sink into the ground on a hidden elevator. "…and you are only human."

* * *

Cyborg trudged along a sidewalk, mind whirling with anger and sadness. "How could I…" he said out loud, the question unanswered as he became full of self-loathing. "They were counting on me and… I just couldn't do it. Alpha was right," he said as the mechanical part of his brain began to dominate his thinking. "My one hundred percent couldn't match Alpha's. He's better than me. He is a winner, and I really am nothing but a loser."

"_So that's it, man? You're just gonna give up_," his human side answered. "_I never knew I was such a coward_."

Cyborg winced at the self-depreciating thought, and while it felt weird to have a conversation with (and be insulted by) himself, he still responded out loud to his inner thoughts. "What else can I do?"

"_You can go back and fight! Give it everything you have_!"

"I gave everything I had. I gave it my all: a hundred percent."

"_That wasn't good enough. Give more_."

"I have nothing else to give."

"_Your friends are in trouble; you _have_ to go back_."

"If I go back, I'll have to fight again."

"_You _have_ to fight. You _have_ to win_!"

"I can't win."

"_Why not? When has there ever been something you couldn't beat? That rock monster, Plasmus, those probe droids, the army_…"

"That was different. The Titans could help me. Alpha is stronger; Alpha is faster: he's just a better robot."

"_But you aren't all robot_!"

"I know: I'm only half-human."

"_No, you're only half-robot! Half of you is human, and _that's_ the half that can beat him!_"

This last thought jolted Cyborg's depression. He looked down at his forearm panel again and saw he was at ten percent overall, with both sides of his body using the same amount of power. His resolve strengthened as he socked a fist into his palm. "Time to take it up a notch," he said as he turned around.

* * *

Alpha strode around the locker room, bending metal and praising himself for the victory. "So what do you think, humans?" he asked as he struck a pose in front of the Titans.

"I think you can go fuck yourself," Robin snapped as he glared at the metallic bully.

"What was that?" Alpha said in a menacing tone as he towered over the unintimidated Titan. "No human tells me what to do," he declared as he reached in and prepared to grab Robin. A blast from a cannon on his back startled the robot and he turned around to see Cyborg with his Sonic Cannon extended.

"You sure about that? Because I'm human, and I'm telling you to let my friends go," he said as he converted his arm back into a fist. The two looked at each other for a moment before launching themselves at each other. Just as the two were about to connect, Cyborg dodged to the left and snapped his leg out in a kick. The blow stopped Alpha's momentum and caught him by surprise. Cyborg capitalized on the robot's stupefaction and seized him by the shoulders before throwing him into a wall. Alpha rubbed his head as he got up and Cyborg rushed in, his newfound confidence showing itself as he hammered away at Alpha's body chassis. As he ducked under a hook punch, Cyborg rushed in, his confidence causing him to forget prudence, and caught an uppercut to the chin. He went soaring into the air and slammed through the ceiling, which was also the stadium floor, and landed in the dirt. As he rubbed his head, Cyborg looked up to see Alpha roaring as he leapt up and tried to slam himself down on the Titan. Cyborg quickly rolled to the side and a column of dust shot up from where Alpha had impacted the ground.

As the thick curtain of dust cleared, Alpha was revealed embedded up to his waist in the ground. His head and torso rotated one hundred eighty degrees to smile sinisterly at Cyborg before he climbed out. In the background, the Titans and Fixit were raised on the elevator back to ground level.

Cyborg backed up to avoid a series of jabs before he caught one in his hand. He quickly balled up his right fist and pointed it at Alpha, who laughed at Cyborg's inferior reach. His laughter was cut short, however, when Cyborg ejected the arm from his shoulder, catching Alpha in the jaw. As the behemoth went flying back, Cyborg turned his left hand into a grappling hook again and launched it at Alpha, catching him around the leg. Cyborg grunted and turned his arm and body, swinging Alpha around like a rodeo. He let go and sent the robot tumbling along the ground. As Alpha sat up he saw Cyborg walking towards him, his right arm attaching itself once again to his shoulder.

"Still got power to spare," Cyborg asked sarcastically as he activated his Sonic Cannon.

"Plenty," was all Alpha said before pulling a buried electric cable out of the ground and thrusting the flickering free end against Cyborg's chassis. His deception backfired, however, when Cyborg channeled the energy into his Sonic Cannon, causing the attack to do more damage than intended. Alpha groaned under the attack and was sent careening into the wall. He began pushing buttons on his chest and reactivated his weapons systems. Unwittingly, he also turned off the energy field, freeing the rest of the once-captive Teen Titans. He cried out in shock as he saw his mistake and quickly tried to run out of the stadium, his probability scenario telling him he had only an eight percent chance of victory against Cyborg at full power and the rest of the Titans.

"Titans: Go," Robin cried as he fired a grappling hook to take him to the other side of the stadium. He touched down in front of the exit, cutting off Alpha's escape. Alpha simply glared at him as the other Titans landed nearby. "You wanted a fair fight? That's what you're going to get," Robin declared as he glared right back at Alpha.

"Five against one? This is a fair fight?" Alpha asked incredulously.

"I thought 'humans provide no challenge'," Beast Boy said, mocking Alpha with his own words as he turned back from a hawk into human again.

"And we will not be participating in the fighting," Starfire added.

"Think of us as referees," Raven explained as the four Titans stared at the once cocky robot.

"It's just you and me," Cyborg said as he walked up to Alpha, cracking his neck again. Alpha sneered at him and cracked his knuckles. The last pop had barely died away when a fist rocked Alpha's vision. Cyborg back-flipped as Alpha slammed a fist down where he had been standing and fired a blast from his Sonic Cannon. Alpha staggered back from the attack and activated two of his own weapons. As one hand became a machine gun, the other formed into a torch. Cyborg's eyes went wide as a blast of fire streaked towards him. He backpedaled furiously to avoid the heat and racked through his weapons to try to think of a counter-attack. As screens came up on his HUD, Cyborg almost didn't notice Alpha's chest chassis opening up to form a third cannon.

A flash caught his attention and Cyborg saw a bright green ball of energy heading for him. He quickly activated his foot thrusters and hopped out of the way. As he flew into the air, Cyborg fired half a dozen rockets from his shoulders. Alpha aimed his machine gun at them and shot three out of the sky before the others hit him. Cyborg landed as Alpha was hidden behind a plume of smoke and flicked both his wrists. A small chain saw popped out from above his left hand and began spinning. Cyborg adopted a defensive stance as three foot-long claws extended from between his palm fingers on his right hand and waited for Alpha to attack. As he inched closer to the robot, Cyborg dodged to the right as another blast of fire came at him.

Alpha roared in rage as Cyborg continued to dodge his long-range attacks, confident that he would be able to keep Cyborg at bay. What Alpha didn't count on was Cyborg turning his right arm into his Sonic Cannon and firing it at the ground, kicking up smoke again. As Alpha activated his other visions, he realized the dust was obscuring all of them except his heat vision. As he brought it up, he saw that Cyborg had already gotten in close. The chain saw lashed out and sliced through some of the armor on Alpha's left arm. Cyborg snapped his arm out and used the flat side to knock Alpha's other arm to the side. The claws stabbed into the chest and Alpha quickly head-butted Cyborg to get him away. As Cyborg staggered back, he saw that the blows he had inflicted on Alpha had disabled most of his external weapons.

Alpha growled and pressed a button on his waist. Cyborg charged in but stopped when he saw another field erect itself over his friends again. The Titans looked around at the shield and immediately began hammering away at it but quickly realized the shield was just as strong as the other one. Cyborg looked back at Alpha, who pointed behind Cyborg. Cyborg glared at him for a moment and he turned around. He saw a cannon mounted on the stadium ceiling swivel towards his friends and begin to power up.

"In ten minutes, that will have enough power to smash through that shield and annihilate your friends," Alpha laughed. "Unless, of course, you can kill me before then. The cannon is hardwired to me: as long as my processor is on, it will continue to follow its pre-programmed directions," Alpha said as he tapped his head. Cyborg began to shake with rage as he charged Alpha. The larger robot charged right back and leapt into the air as he got closer. Cyborg was caught by surprise by this tactic and Alpha seized him by the shoulders and threw him away. Cyborg hit the earth and slid across the dirt, his armor gouging out pieces of the ground until he came to a stop at the chair that Alpha had been on. Cyborg climbed to his feet, running through his weapons. He had depleted most of his weapons except for his Sonic Cannon, which wouldn't pack enough punch by itself to destroy Alpha. An idea popped into his head and activated some panels on his back. The metal flipped around, producing solar panels that would absorb the energy from the setting sun. Fortunately, the stadium was still full of sunlight, and Cyborg brought up a small screen that would let him know when he had enough power.

He looked down at the throne and slammed his hands into it. Cyborg growled as he strained his muscles, ripping pieces of the chair off. Alpha laughed as he charged in, thinking Cyborg was just randomly destroying things in a fit of rage. As he came closer, Cyborg turned around, wearing the large pieces of the chair as a couple of boxing gloves and slammed them together. Cyborg rushed at Alpha and ducked under a fierce hook punch before retaliating with a vicious punch with his right hand. The metal surrounding his hands gave him a more extended reach, and Alpha stepped back from the force behind the strike. Cyborg stepped forward with a left uppercut, snapping the other robot's head backwards and continued the assault with a jab from his right arm.

Alpha staggered back from the attacks as Cyborg circled around him, inflicting blows wherever he could. Three more shots to the body and face later, Cyborg realized he needed to get Alpha on the ground: the 'gloves' were starting to come apart from the abuse they were taking. One more uppercut sent Alpha's head up and Cyborg followed up with a kick that knocked the large robot off balance. As Alpha fell to the ground, Cyborg climbed on top and began hammering away at Alpha's face, pieces of metal flying everywhere as his weapon came apart. As the attacks continued, Alpha's body began to sink into the ground from the sheer weight of the two combatants combined with the force behind Cyborg's strikes. The android tossed the remaining pieces of the chair away when they became too small to use effectively and grabbed Alpha by the shoulder. Bringing the face up, Cyborg continued to hammer away at Alpha's face until parts of the external plating were removed.

Cyborg finished with one last punch that sent Alpha's head snapping back and took a deep breath, the exertion catching up with him. He breathed heavily for a few moments before hearing Alpha's taunting voice again. "That's all you got? I thought you were going to provide me with a challenge," he sneered. Cyborg grit his teeth in frustration and raised his fist again but Alpha knocked Cyborg back a couple of feet with his hands before kicking out and launching Cyborg across the stadium.

Alpha charged Cyborg's fallen body but his momentum was broken by a barrage of Sonic Cannon blasts. Cyborg was up in no time and charged in, popping the knuckles out in his left hand to produce spiked tips. He caught a blow to the face for this distraction, but quickly found his footing and grabbed Alpha's arm in a lock. He drove the robot to the ground and lashed out with his left hand, his knuckles tearing away part of the cheek from the face. Alpha muscled his way out and caught Cyborg's hands in his own. Cyborg struggled to keep Alpha at bay when he saw on his HUD that the solar panels were done charging. He grinned as a panel on his chest opened, and the solar energy that Cyborg's body had been collected was channeled through a cannon and blasted Alpha away, the sheer heat melting most of his external armor off.

Cyborg ran at Alpha's stunned form and leapt off the ground. He twisted his body in the air and kicked out with both feet, hitting Alpha square in the chest. At the exact moment of impact, Cyborg activated his foot thrusters again, and combined force sent Alpha again into a wall. The stadium looked as though it was about to collapse, and Alpha himself was looking the worse for wear: his body dented and scratched up by the onslaught Cyborg was unleashing. He stayed completely still, luring Cyborg closer to see if he was finally deactivated. As Cyborg got closer, Alpha sprang to his feet and knocked him back. Cyborg snarled and rushed in, but a kick from Alpha sent him against a wall. As he tried to get out, Alpha seized his wrists and slammed his forearms and wrists to the concrete, keeping Cyborg pinned to the wall.

Alpha grinned savagely at Cyborg as the latter tried to free himself. As he struggled against Alpha, Cyborg's power readout climbed to ninety-eight percent, throwing a scare into him as he continued to push himself. "What's the matter? Running out of steam?" Alpha taunted as he likewise increased his strength. Cyborg gazed at his friends, trapped in another field with no protection from the cannon, as his body was slowly pushed against the wall, cracking it and embedding him in the concrete. He poured every bit of strength he could muster into freeing himself, but was met only with derisive chuckling from Alpha. They both glanced at his forearm as the readout starts beeping and saw it had maxed out. Alpha narrowed his eyes as he stared down at Cyborg. "You have reached your limit. You have failed. Now you can watch your friends die," Alpha taunted as he watched Cyborg continue to struggle. "You cannot win."

"Yes…" Cyborg grunted as he continued to push himself, "…I…" he ground out as he braced his back for the push, "CAN!" he roared as his arms began to push out from the wall. Alpha's eyes widened in shock as he put all his strength into his hold. Cyborg's power meter cracked and began to quickly rise again until it hit one hundred thirty percent. Alpha snarled as he felt Cyborg's arms push his own back and for the first time in the fight became truly scared of what Cyborg was capable of.

With a scream as tortured as his muscles, Cyborg pushed himself off the wall and lifted the huge metal body over his head. He slammed in down into the ground, embedding the head and torso of Alpha into the ground. He quickly yanked it up and pulled the head clean off the shoulder, destroying Alpha and disabling the cannon countdown. "Boo-yah," he muttered before slumping against a wall and collapsing.

The Titans, free from the shield, ran at Cyborg to make sure he was all right. They hoisted him shakily to his feet, and Beast Boy grabbed Cyborg's wrist and thrust the arm into the air as a referee would do in a boxing match. "And the winner by Technological Knockout: the Mechanical Maniac; the Bionic Bruiser; the Relentless Robot; the Unstoppable Android; the One, the Only, Cyborg!" He announced to the other Titans, who cheered for him. Cyborg grinned feebly and slumped again as they leaned him gently against the wall.

"He'll be all right," Robin told the Titans, ever the practical leader. "Right now we need to find out where Alpha came from," he said as he began to inspect the robot's frame. The other Titans joined him, not noticing that Fixit had emerged from the shadows of a room to pick Cyborg up and take him away.

"What the…" Robin muttered to himself as he pulled off the endoskeleton of Alpha. A message had been carved into the metal, and Robin's blood became heated as he read it.

_ Robin,_

_ I'm pleased to see that brute force wasn't enough to stop you and the other  
Titans. Take pride in that you have saved your city, since Alpha would have__ event-__  
ually destroyed it. I'm proud of you, and that doesn't happen often. I'll be in touch…  
Slade_

"Guys, look at this," he said showing it to the others. Their faces were shocked as they read the message recognizing the name from the man who had hired the HIVE FIVE to destroy them.

"Cy, get a load of this," Beast Boy said as he called over his shoulder. Not hearing a response, he turned around and saw Cyborg was missing. "um… guys, where's Cy," he said, drawing the rest of his team's attention.

The Titans immediately converged on where Cyborg's body had been and saw a note pinned to the wall.

_ I have taken your friend. He is not in any danger: he is being fixed. His exhaustion  
during this fight proves that he needs to be fixed. Since I fix things, I will fix him. I will  
__ return your friend to you when fixes are done- Fixit_

The Titans immediately took off for the junkyard, knowing the danger their vulnerable friend was in…

* * *

Cyborg groaned, his head pounding as a bright light shone in his eyes. He winced as he felt a sharp tool dig into his shoulder and turned his head to see that he was restrained. As Cyborg looked around, his hazy mind trying to put things together, he recognized the surroundings as Fixit's cavern. Above him stood Fixit, bent over him and hard at work. Two other tools hovered around him and Fixit exchanged the tool he was holding for another and removed a piece of Cyborg's armor, letting it clatter to the floor. Fixit took the robotic face off the rack and Cyborg tried to free himself from his restraints, but knew that he was too exhausted from his fight with Alpha to get loose.

"Do not resist," Fixit said as he looked down at Cyborg. "It is for the best."

"No, it isn't!" Cyborg protested as he tried to reason with the single-minded entity.

"Yes it is," Fixit said as he put the finishing touches on the mask. "You biological components are imperfect and must be replaced."

"But it was only because of my biological components that I was able to defeat Alpha," causing Fixit to pause.

"That is an odd anomaly," Fixit conceded. "But if you did not have the biological components in the first place you would have been able to defeat Alpha in the first battle."

"Please, don't do this." Cyborg pleaded as Fixit stood over him. "If you take out my biological components…" he said as Fixit lowered the mask over his human face, causing his voice to sound as though it was coming through a speaker, "…you take out the best part of me: the part that makes me who I am!"

"Your memories- your 'self'- _will_ be preserved," Fixit reassured Cyborg as his eyes glowed red. The face he had placed on Cyborg's face attached itself to the other side of his head. The port on his forehead opened and a cable extended outward, plugging itself into Cyborg's new face, right between the eyes.

"No…" Cyborg pleaded as he struggled, "you can't do this, please! You don't understand!" Cyborg felt the cable on his new face begin to access his human mind and screamed from the pain.

Fixit shut his eyes to access Cyborg's memories and gasped as scenes began flashing through his mind…

_ Starfire, Beast Boy, and Raven worked together as they went through their training rigmarole… Robin and Starfire glancing shyly at each other at the picnic table… Starfire hugging the mustard jar… Cyborg and Robin staring at her in disbelief… The Titans gathering for the football game… Robin backing up for a pass… Beast Boy turning into a dinosaur as he charged Robin… Cyborg's arms extended for the football… The Titans looked at him as he came to after his shutdown… The boy with the artificial hand running up to say hello, his hand colored like Cyborg's…_

Fixit cried out and staggered back from the table, falling to his knees. The table and doors, no longer under Fixit's control, opened by default. Cyborg rolled off the table and felt his new metal face off and groaned in relief as the Titans burst in to the unexpected scene.

Robin took view of the room and walked over to Cyborg, putting away his weapons. "You okay," he asked as he helped the teen to his feet.

"Yeah," Cyborg breathed as he slumped against Robin, who almost collapsed under his weight. He motioned for the other Titans to come over and help him, and as they made their way to the exit they heard Fixit speak in a whisper.

"So… beautiful."

They turned around and saw the medic with a sad face as he stared at his hands and then around him. Cyborg shrugged his friends off and weakly went over to the android.

"I had forgotten how beautiful, the world…" Fixit trailed off wistfully as Cyborg reached him. "…through your eyes," he said as he looked up at Cyborg.

"Through human eyes. The same kind you have," Cyborg said gently, reminding Fixit that he wasn't all robot either.

"Perhaps I am the one who needs to be fixed," Fixit said as he looked at his hand, the flesh calloused from working with tools so much and nearly grey white from lack of sunlight.

"And maybe I'm the guy who can help fix you," Cyborg said as he hoisted Fixit to his feet. Fixit smiled and the Titans helped Cyborg and Fixit out of the chamber.

* * *

The next day, the Titans were once again outside, enjoying a beautiful day. They had delivered Fixit to the authorities, who had assured the Titans they would get the recluse psychological help with integrating back into society.

"Look at this," Robin said as Cyborg stood over the barbeque. Cyborg took the metal plate from Alpha's chest and read the message.

"So, Slade wants to destroy the city. The question is, why?"

"I don't know, but I will find out," Robin said in a determined voice. "And he _won't_ get away with it." The two Titans were silent for a moment before Robin glanced down Cyborg's forearm. The power readout screen was still cracked from the night before: obviously Cyborg hadn't noticed.

"Guess we better get you a new one of those," he said, pointing to it.

Cyborg looked to where Robin was pointing. "Don't need it anymore," he said dismissively. "My body may have its limitations, but if I put my mind to it, there's no limit to what I can do. After all, I'm only human." Robin nodded and walked away towards Starfire to sit down with her once again. Cyborg looked at the two and shook his head before a voice calling his name distracted him.

"Cyborg! Hey, Cyborg," a young voice called. Cyborg turned around and saw the boy from before running up, this time with a friend in tow. His mitt was gone and his sleeve rolled up, exposing the prosthesis again. "See," he said to his friend proudly, "it's Cyborg. He's just like me!"

"Cool," the other boy said, almost breathless at meeting a Teen Titan in real-life.

"I am just like you," Cyborg said as he knelt down to get at face level with the two youths. "But it's not your arm that makes us the same," he said as he pointed to the hand, "it's the stuff connected to it," he grinned as he moved his finger and poked the boy in the chest.

Both youths beamed at the robot and Cyborg smiled back before picking up a football. "Now, go deep," he ordered, and they ran out, laughing. Cyborg waited a few seconds before letting the pigskin fly, smiling as he watched the two boys play…

* * *

Well, sorry this took so long. I rewrote the thing about three times, once when I was halfway finished, and then the last weekend in August I was away, so no work got done. Then school started and since I'm enrolled in five classes (one of them an Honors Seminar) and will soon have to be doing classroom observations, it took me a lot longer to get this done, especially since I wanted the last fight scene to be a couple of pages at least. I hope that the wait was worth it.

Updates will probably be a little slower now that I am in school again, but please bear with me: I do enjoy this and do not plan on stopping. Also, sorry for the shorter fight scenes between Cyborg and Atlas: I wanted to make the last one seem more… epic, I guess is the word I'm looking for. Well, hope it was decent; please review and let me know what you thought of it.


	6. Episode V: Random Robberies or Systemati

The Sixth Child EVA-04- Thanks very much for the message: it was nice to get some input that gave me an ideas of where I'm going. I _am_ trying to keep everyone in character, but at the same time, they need to change their personalities to fit what I want to do later, and changing them slowly is proving very tricky for me. I know exactly the types of stories that make them out to be the way you described, and I'm happy to see that I'm avoiding those pitfalls so far. By the way, is it me, or did Beast Boy seem below-average intelligence for most of the show, and then with Terra and the last few episodes he shined? I really didn't like that they did him that way: the immature prankster was fine, but the poor guy always seemed totally clueless. About you not writing fanfiction yourself: that's fine. In fact, that makes you better to judge certain things because you are willing to read more than me and will subsequently have newer ideas. And I will need a couple of episode ideas to further Robin's obsession with Slade (in the show it was kind of like, Robin wonders in Episode 3 and 4, and by Episode 9, with no mention of Slade, he's obsessed). Obviously, since I have problems with that, I am trying to tie things in with Slade, like I did last chapter with Alpha, and hopefully have done here. I'll still need an original episode or two though to make it feel sufficiently fleshed-out, and if you can think of anything, I would really appreciate it.

* * *

Well, here be Episode V. Sorry to have taken so long in getting this out, but I do have schoolwork and other responsibilities. Also, this is (as far as I know) an original episode. While I may have borrowed some elements from other episodes, the basic storyline is original. It is intended to put some development in Robin's character and start his obsession with Slade, and it took me quite a while to come up with not only the gist of the story, but also the way in which it would flow. Please let me know how it turns out, as mysteries are not my thing.

* * *

Episode V: Random Robberies or Systematic Signs

Robin bolted out of bed as the alarm sounded throughout the Titan's Tower, informing them of some trouble in Jump City. He glanced at the clock as he exited his room and saw that it was 1:42 in the morning. Grumbling to himself as he sprinted down the hallway, he saw Starfire fly out of her room and meet him.

"Do you know what the disturbance is?" She asked as she slowed down to match his pace. Robin shook his head, partly to answer and partly to shake the sleepiness out of his mind. Beast emerged sleepily from his room, rubbing an eye and briefly changed into a cat to stretch his body. As the bones in his back snapped and popped, Beast Boy changed back into a human and began to run with them.

As the three entered the living room, they saw Raven rubbing her eyes as she phased in through the floor, wrapping her cloak around her in an attempt to keep warm. Cyborg was already at the computer, getting the nature and address of the disturbance.

"Looks like a break-in at a bookstore," he called over to the team as he traced the signal.

"Must all of us go?" Starfire asked groggily as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"Nah, I'll take care of it," Robin said to the team. "There's no use in all of us going, and I'll call you guys for backup if I need it," he said as he left the room and went downstairs. He hopped on his R-Cycle and powered it up. As he was about to leave the garage, his communicator went off.

"_Robin, you sure you don't want help?_" Cyborg's voice came over the speaker.

"I'm sure," he replied. "Besides, it's only ten minutes away: even if I can't handle it, I can survive long enough for you guys to get there," he reminded the android as he tore out of the garage. As he reached the edge of the water, the wheels of the cycle flipped sideways and blade fans popped out. Combined with a quartet of thrusts and two jets on the back, Robin rode the R-Cycle over the water to get to Jump City. The water and wind sprayed into his face, waking him up completely.

As he arrived at the bookstore, Robin saw that the place had indeed been broken into. The windows had been smashed in and the door kicked out, causing a large amount of unnecessary damage. Robin walked cautiously inside, his senses on high alert for anything out of place. As he looked around the store, he saw the bookstores had not been disturbed, and the cash registers and safe had been left untouched. Robin finished walking around the store and decided that nothing had been touched; it had probably just been a gang or petty troublemakers.

As he turned to leave, Robin spotted something lying on the counter by the registers out of the corner of his eye. He walked over and picked up the object, wondering about the significance of it. Between his fingers was a dead bird. Robin wasn't sure what to make of it, but he decided to bring it with him: it had obviously been left behind for him (or whoever inspected the scene) to find.

"Maybe it's a calling card…," he muttered to himself as he mounted his R-Cycle again. As he took off for the Titans Tower again, Robin yawned and heard his communicator beep twice to signal that it was now two in the morning. Moments later, he saw an explosion come from uptown. He dropped the dead bird in a compartment and signaled the other Titans to meet him at the place. Ten minutes later, Robin sensed his teammates above him, and he looked up to see Starfire flying down to join him.

"What happened at the store of books," she asked, wondering what the disturbance had been about.

"Not sure: doesn't seem like anything more than breaking in and a dead bird. There wasn't even any vandalism," Robin replied.

Starfire looked at him confusedly. "Why would someone dally over a van," she asked.

Robin shook his head as he realized that Starfire had misinterpreted the word. "Uh, someone just smashed the windows and door, but nothing inside." Starfire nodded and blushed faintly, as she always did when she realized she had misunderstood an Earth word or custom.

"_So Robin, what's up with this other alert?_" Cyborg's voice came through his communicator.

"No clue," Robin confessed, "but whatever it was, it was big enough to hear from downtown."

As the Titans arrived at the disturbance ten minutes later, they saw that an office building had been blown out. Shattered glass littered the pavement, and the twisted frame of the building looked about ready to collapse. Smoke billowed into the air as flames licked the air. Robin looked around and saw that there was a gas station right next to the office.

"That gas station goes, the whole block could go," Cyborg shouted over the roar of the flames, seeing where Robin was looking.

Robin nodded and pointed to the flames, ordering the Titans to move. Starfire picked Robin up and carried him high into the air. Robin broke out in sweat as they got close to the flames and grabbed a few spheres off his utility belt. He tossed them into the fire and watched as they exploded, releasing a large amount of Halon gas and water. Cyborg, meanwhile, had smashed the top of a fire hydrant and placed his hands on it, channeling the water over to the flames. Beast Boy transformed into a large ape and began to knock the wooden beams down into the fire so they wouldn't fall on the outside, while Raven sat down and began to meditate, concentrating on keeping air away from the fire to starve it out.

As the flames died down, Robin turned away and rubbed his head, so much action so early taking it toll on him. He turned to get back on his R-Cycle and stepped back in shock. On the seat of his bike was an eyeball. He cautiously approached the body part and tentatively picked it up; sighing in relief when he realized it was only a plastic toy. He held it in his hand and wondered whether whoever had vandalized the bookstore had also set the fire. He yawned and shook his head, trying to figure everything out.

"You all right," Cyborg asked as he walked up to his friend. As an answer, Robin extended his hands, one holding the bird and the other the plastic eye. "Um, as great as these are, why are you giving them to me?"

"The bird was left for me at the bookstore. I just found the eye here on my bike. I think someone is leaving us clues," Robin said.

"Any idea what they mean?"

"Not yet, but if I can get some sleep, I'll be able to figure it out," Robin grumbled as he got back on his bike.

As the Titans made their way back to the tower, they were silent. All of them were a little testy at having been roused so early twice, and even Starfire looked a little grumpy as they arrived home.

"All right y'all, I'm turning in," Cyborg yawned as they walked inside. The other agreed, Beast Boy flopping himself down on the couch instead of going to his room. Robin smiled and shook his head as he went down the corridor that led to his room, his hands still holding the bird and eye. He put them down on the table in his room, restocked his utility belt, and collapsed into bed, his eyes shutting before his head hit the pillow. As he lay there, Robin groaned when he realized that his mind was still running with the mystery of the objects. He tried to relax, but his brain kept hypothesizing reasons for why someone would leave such unusual objects behind.

Robin shook his head after a few minutes and got up, pacing back and forth in his room. As he rubbed his temples, he wondered at the connection between the bird and the eyeball. "Is it that birds have eyes… or maybe its telling me to go look at the birds… or maybe I need to see the city from a bird's eye point of view…" he muttered to himself, bringing up one possibility after another before dismissing them each. As the possibilities became more fantastic, Robin didn't notice his communicator silently flash. A few minutes later, the alarm once again began to blare throughout the tower. Robin leapt out of his room and dashed down the hall, his gut telling him that whoever had vandalized the other two establishments had struck yet again. Robin located the area as quickly as he could, hoping to get there and catch whoever this criminal was.

As Robin powered up his R-Cycle, the time flashed at him, and he groaned when he realized it was past three a.m. He shook his head and dashed out, his motorcycle rocketing out for the city…

* * *

From his lair, Slade watched Robin's locator signal streak towards his latest attack. "Come now, Robin," he said out loud, as he watched the blips move around with an amused eye. "How much longer are you going to avoid me?"

* * *

Robin arrived at a lawyer's building to see the door ripped off its hinges but otherwise undamaged. He started to walk inside but thought better of it at the last second. "Whole place could be rigged to blow," he thought to himself as he studied the building. As he paced back and forth in front of the building, waiting for his team to get there to determine whether or not it was safe to go inside, Robin wondered whether these random attacks might have anything to do with Slade. He dismissed the thought immediately Slade liked to send henchmen to do his work, and his attacks were always set in the open.

"Got anything yet?" Cyborg asked as Beast Boy set him down.

Robin jumped: he had been so deep in thought that he had not heard his team approaching. He looked around and saw only Cyborg and Beast Boy.

"Where's Raven and Star?"

"Back at the Tower. We don't know whose pulling these pranks, but it's safe to say they'll strike again before the night is out," Cyborg said as he rubbed his human eye. The dark bags around his eye made it obvious that the constant waking was starting to affect him.

"Yeah, so we put them in charge of the alarm system to let us know where next," Beast Boy continued, as Cyborg was stopped by a huge yawn. Robin nodded and motioned with his head towards the inside of the building. Cyborg nodded and stepped forward, his mechanic eye glowing a bit brighter as he looked through the building.

"Nothin' unusual from the outside, but I'd better check it out from the inside just to be safe," he said as he turned towards the building.

As Robin walked ahead of Cyborg into the building people, the familiar scent of kerosene caught his nose. He quickly stopped walking, but he felt his foot trip a wire and leapt back as fire flared up from the floor. Robin yelled to Cyborg and Beast Boy to warn them about the fire and backpedaled. As he left the room, Robin noticed the fire spreading quickly along a path. He looked closely and saw a shape emerge from the flames. He quickly ran outside to the other two Titans and found Cyborg while Beast Boy looked around for water.

"Cyborg, before we put out the fire, take a picture of it," Robin asked as he pulled a few more spheres with the Halon-water mixture. Cyborg looked at him curiously before walking inside and photographing the fire with his mechanic eye.

"Happy?" He said grumpily as he exited the building.

"No, I mean take a ceiling picture of it," Robin said, something in his expression causing Cyborg to simply nod and not argue. He popped his right hand off and flipped the camera in the middle finger out. He sent it inside and sent it crawling up a wall. Cyborg waited until the hand was in the center of the ceiling above the fire and snapped a shot. He steered the hand back towards him and began to walk back towards Beast Boy.

"Hey, what about the fire!" Robin asked, shocked that Cyborg could walk away so calmly.

"Relax. It's going down already: it looks like that fire was just a signal for something else," the android said.

Beast Boy overheard this short conversation and simply stretched his shoulders before becoming a condor and picking Cyborg up.

"Hey, wait! What about the photo," Robin shouted as the two began to go home.

"Dude, do I look like a printer?" Cyborg shouted back. "We'll print it out back home," he said as they flew into the distance.

Robin grumbled to himself as he once again mounted his R-Cycle. As he took off, Robin decided to take a drive to think things over. As he headed northeast, he felt his communicator go off, but didn't hear any sound coming from it. He ignored it as he continued to drive, his mind focused on other matters. As it vibrated again, Robin thought it might be one of the Titans trying to call him, but he knew that they would talk to him if they had need to get in touch with him. As it vibrated a third time, Robin growled and reached for it. As his hand brushed the communicator, Robin was pitched off his bike by a laser cannon striking the ground in front of him and creating a crater. Robin rolled to his feet and gathered a corner of his cape in his hand, ready to deflect a possible follow-up attack. Nothing happened for a few seconds, causing Robin to eventually drop his guard. A flicker from behind him caused him to whirl around, readying a couple of birdarangs in case he needed to defend himself, but all that was behind him was a faded neon sign over an abandoned justice building.

Feeling foolish, Robin put his weapons away and hefted his bike upright. As he mounted it, the sign began to glow brighter, catching his attention once again. He looked towards the sign and saw the first four letters beginning to glow brighter and brighter. Robin covered his eyes and grabbed a camera from his bike. He quickly took a picture of the sign so he would be able to go back and spot anything in the distance before he began heading home again.

"_Robin, where are you_?" Starfire's voice asked over his communicator.

"I'm at the corner of fifty second and fourth," Robin said as he yawned and looked towards his home. "Why do you guys keep calling me?"

"_What do you mean_?" Starfire's voice came over in a confused tone.

"You guys called me three times before, didn't you?" Robin answered; starting to get a little confused himself.

"_Robin, no one from the Tower has tried to contact you. Are you sure your communicator went off_?"

"Positive: it went off three times and then…" Robin's voice trailed off as his mind considered the possibilities. Had someone tried to contact him to warn him about the attack? Dimly, he heard Starfire calling his name in the communicator and with a great effort pulled his mind back to the present.

"_Robin, we just received another alarm signal. I know you've been up a while, but can you check it out? I'm sending you the coordinates and Starfire is going to be joining you_," Raven's voice interrupted. Robin confirmed and set off with his bike for the next alarm: a small pizzeria four blocks east.

* * *

"Oh Robin, I wonder if you have found the method to the madness yet," Slade mused as he continued to watch Robin's blip move around the city. He walked closer to the computer and typed in a few commands on a keyboard. In an instant, he had hacked into the security files in the restaurant. He watched as Robin barged inside, his expression expectant and frustrated. Slade chuckled at the teenager's bafflement as he picked up the next clue that had been left for him.

* * *

"Robin, what have you found?" Starfire asked as she landed.

"Nothing," Robin said, telling only half the truth. He pulled out from under his cape a custom made teddy bear and showed it to her. Starfire gasped and smiled as she hugged Robin. He protested as she yanked it from his hands and swirled around in the air with it.

"'I put a lot of effort into making this, so don't damage it'," Starfire read from a card. She looked at Robin with puzzlement in her eyes. "Robin, why do you think I would damage it?"

"Um, Starfire… I didn't make that for you," Robin said, and realized he had phrased the sentence wrong when he saw her face fall.

"You… made it for someone else," she asked, her body language quickly becoming tense.

"No, no, no," Robin said quickly. "I mean I didn't make it at all. Someone had left it inside the place for me to find."

"So someone _else_ is sending you gifts?" Starfire asked, her hair beginning to wave. Robin recognized the sign as one of rage and quickly tried to think of a way to calm her down.

"Starfire, I don't think a girl is sending me gifts. Everywhere we've gone tonight, there's been something waiting for us to find. I think someone is trying to send us a message," he said as he put a hand on her shoulder. Starfire calmed down somewhat, though she still looked very upset. Robin was surprised at Starfire's reaction, but he decided to focus on it later as he studied the bear again. "Wait a second: you said there was a card?" Starfire nodded and handed it to him. "'I put a lot of effort into MAKING this, so don't damage it'," Robin muttered to himself. "Why is 'making' capitalized?"

"I do not know, Robin," Starfire confessed as she yawned. She looked much calmer now that Robin had assured her that no one was flirting with him, and now her mind was focused back on Titan's Tower… and her warm comfy bed. "Perhaps we could try to figure it out after a night of sleep?"

"Yeah…" Robin said as he ran a hand through his hair. He turned and looked at Starfire and smiled, his brain begging for rest. "Let's go home," he said as he picked up his R-Cycle and revved it up.

As Robin and Starfire headed home, Robin felt his mind drifting. He shook his head as he drove, struggling to stay awake. He knew Starfire would not mind flying him and the R-Cycle home, but he did not want to ask her for fear of being seen as a weak leader. As they neared the coastline, the streetlights all suddenly went dark. Robin stopped his bike and held up a hand for Starfire to stop as well. Robin turned on the floodlights of his motorcycle, not knowing what to expect. He saw nothing, but could not shake off the distinctive feeling that he and Starfire were not alone. Suddenly, one streetlight came back on. Underneath it was a plain white box.

"What is that?" Starfire asked as the rest of the lights came back on.

"Not sure, but I'm gonna have Cyborg analyze it when we get back and see," Robin said as Starfire yawned and hovered down to the ground. "Come on Starfire, I'll drive you home," Robin said as he got back on the R-Cycle. Starfire simply yawned again and didn't argue. She leaned up against Robin's back and wrapped her arms around his chest. Robin gulped as he heard her sigh happily and took a deep breath to steady himself.

Starfire inhaled deeply as Robin took off for the tower. She sighed happily as she caught Robin's distinctive smell: a mixture of sweat and figs. She leaned closer to get a better smell and felt Robin's back muscles and shoulders tense up. She wriggled closer to Robin and opened her hands to feel his abdomen, reveling in the touch.

Robin gulped as he felt Starfire's body press up against his. The R-Cycle wobbled slightly as he struggled to keep his mind on the road, suddenly distracted by Starfire. He began noticing smaller things, like the way her legs brushed up against his uniform pants, and how her hands had opened up and now lay spread across his abs. He blushed as she ran a finger across his ribs, unsure what he should do in a situation such as this. Batman's warning to not become attached to a teammate sounded in his brain, but Robin had a very difficult time paying attention to it.

As they landed at Titans Tower, Robin quickly got off the bike, unsure of what he should do. Starfire got off the bike, a little unsteady due to lack of sleep, and tripped. Robin reacted instinctively, grabbed her forearm, and hoisted her up. Starfire went with the momentum and nearly bowled the uncertain teen over. Robin shifted his weight to his back legs and wound up holding Starfire very close to him. She stared up him, her upper body slumped against his chest. Robin gulped and tried to remain calm, despite his mind rapidly working overtime in conjuring images and scenarios.

"Yo, Robin: I got the picture printed for you," Cyborg called as he entered the garage, unaware how grateful Robin was that someone had come in and provided a distraction.

Robin immediately pushed Starfire upright, steadying her gently before focusing his attention on Cyborg. "Well, what did it show?"

"Man, I think you might be overanalyzing this. It was just a 'W'."

"What?" Robin said, confused that someone had gone through all that trouble just to make a letter.

Cyborg walked up to him and offered the photo to Robin. "You can see for yourself. Probably just a gang sign," Cyborg said as he offered the photo to Robin. Robin took it and saw that the flames had indeed been outlined in the shape of a 'W'. Without another word, Robin left the roof and went to his room, leaving an exhausted Cyborg and a confused Starfire behind.

As Robin entered his bedroom, his nose wrinkled: the smell from the dead bird had permeated through the small room. He opened the windows and turned on the ventilation system, which began to improve the smell somewhat. He looked down at the bird, not willing to get rid of it, since it was the first clue that had been dropped for him to find. After staring at it for a minute, Robin snapped a picture of it and dropped it outside his window, putting the picture on the table along with the others. Robin stared at the odd collection of clues that had been left for him: a dead bird, a rubber eyeball, a picture of a 'W'. He pulled out the other picture that he had taken after being knocked off his bike and saw that the first four letters of a sign saying 'Justice' had been lit up until they popped. His next two clues were the card from the teddy bear, and the small white box that he had yet to open. Robin cautiously examined the box, remembering that he had intended to ask Cyborg what it was. He thought about rousing the android, but decided that Cyborg deserved to sleep. As he set it on the table, Robin was surprised when it opened of its own accord. Inside was a small pamphlet with a cross. 'If you died today, would you like to be SURE of where you're going?'

Robin shook his head, wondering why a person or religious group would go through such trouble to get a religious message to him. He sat in a chair and rubbed his temples again before opening his laptop and plugging into the city's mainframe, seeing if there had been any religious threats recently. As he scanned the system, however, Robin saw that (apart from a debate on infant baptism between two denominations of Christianity) there had been no outbursts between the churches of the city.

As Robin stared at the screen, scrolling down articles that might shed some light on this mystery, his communicator. Robin pulled it off his hip and looked at it cautiously. As it rang again, Robin debated picking it up. On the one hand, whoever was trying to contact him might very well be the person attacking the random places on the city. On the other hand, activating his communicator could allow whoever it was to hack inside and possibly spy on the Titans, a risk that Robin would not allow. As he pushed a button to silence his communicator, he heard the alarm blare once again.

Robin growled in frustration and took one last glance at the clues that he had gathered so far before running out of the room. As he entered the living room, he saw the rest of his team, now quite irritated at being summoned yet again.

"Okay, this has _got_ to stop," Beast Boy snapped as he entered the room, his entire body swathed in a blanket.

"For once, I agree," Raven said grumpily as she sat down in a chair. Starfire tried to say something, but it got lost in a yawn as Cyborg stared at the screen.

"We're all going to this next one," Cyborg said determinedly as he stared at blip.

"Where?" Robin said as he walked over, rubbing his eyes and trying to stimulate his mind so he could remain alert.

"Just off shore," Cyborg said as the team tried to motivate themselves to get up and move.

As Robin tore out of the room for the garage, Starfire yawned and rubbed her eyes as she opened a window and flew up to the roof. Cyborg stretched and cracked his neck and back a few times before following Starfire, albeit taking the stairs to the roof from where they would fly. Raven levitated into the air and saw Beast Boy going back into the hallway. "Coming?" She asked in a biting tone.

"Yeah, in a sec: I gotta get a shirt on," Beast Boy said as he quickly left the room. Raven rolled her eyes and phased through the window, focusing her attention on the shore. She stretched out with her emphatic abilities and tried to pick something up from around the break-in, but beyond dreams and the occasional early riser, she could detect anything out of the ordinary. Raven concentrated harder, trying to pick up anything that might be attempting to conceal its thoughts, but after a few minutes still could not discover anything.

"_This is no ordinary criminal_," she thought to herself as she touched down on the sidewalk a few minutes later. "_No one could get that far away fast enough to avoid my powers, unless they knew that I was coming_," she pondered. While it was possible for a criminal to know about her powers, Raven tried to keep them unknown, and the possibility of a normal thug figuring out her telepathic range without having been caught before was improbable to the point of preposterous. As Raven continued scanning, she picked up a flash of joy coupled with apprehension. Moments later, Beast Boy touched down, donned in his normal purple and black suit and gloves. "Don't you ever wear anything else," she asked as they waited for the others.

"You should talk," Beast Boy retorted as he looked around the scene. Raven frowned, but considered that he had a point. She turned away from him partially and wrapped her cloak around her body as she raised her hood. She took a deep breath to steady her mind before closing her eyes and concentrating again. Beast Boy watched her turn away and frowned as he saw her shoulders hunch. "Hey, I didn't mean that," he said apologetically as he reached for her shoulder.

Raven shrugged Beast Boy off, not noticing him wince as the others landed. She exhaled a large breath of air and the team focused their attention on the building that had signaled the tower. So far, no one had come out of it, and while Raven couldn't pick up any thoughts from inside, she still wasn't willing to believe that someone could enter a music store and rob it in less than seven minutes. She mentioned this fact to Robin, who agreed with her theory.

"Okay team, we need to enter from multiple points to cut off any possible escape route. Beast Boy, Starfire, you two take the roof; Cyborg, you go around back; Raven, see if there's a basement and try to get in through there. I'll go in the front to draw attention. We haven't all gone out to face whoever keeps breaking into places yet, so if he sees me he won't expect the rest of you." The rest of the team nodded and quickly followed their directions while Robin began to pick the lock on the door.

"_Who breaks in and then locks the door behind them_," Robin wondered as he worked for a few seconds. He heard the lock click and slowly pushed the door open. As he entered, Robin saw immediately that there was no one around- the lights were on and all the doors were open. "_No one would do this trying to ambush us_," Robin thought as he got on his communicator and told all the Titans to meet him in the main room. Robin looked around the room and tried to find something that would have been left behind. As he glanced into the corner, he saw a girder sticking out of the ground. Robin's attention was then diverted to a top hat lying next to the girder. As Robin reached for it, his hand stopped halfway. The other clues had proven tricky and hazardous, and Robin had no desire to try to figure out what danger might be lurking underneath that hat. He stepped back and took a photo of the hat, and the girder nest to it, which had been bent into a lowercase 't'.

"All right, this is getting annoying," Cyborg grumbled as he came in through the doorway.

"Agreed, Cyborg," Starfire said as she flew in through the door. "This game of feline and rodent is becoming quite irritating."

"Yeah," Beast Boy said as he walked in behind her. "Whose bright idea is it to just break into places and leave," he grumbled.

"There _must_ be a purpose behind all of these," Raven insisted as she came up from through the floor.

Robin opened his mouth to tell them about the clue that had been left behind for him, but suddenly stopped. For some reason, he didn't want to tell his friends about them. Whether they would try to help or chastise him for following a string of clues left behind by a dangerous individual, Robin didn't care: this was something he felt like he wanted to do on his own.

Suddenly, all of the Titan's communicators began flashing. As each Titan looked at his or her communicator, they saw that another alert had been triggered some place east. "Titan's: move out," Robin ordered as he ran out the door. As the Titans prepared to take off, their communicator's flashed again. Robin looked and saw another alert break out, uptown and further east of the other alert. "Okay, me and Starfire will check out the first alert. Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven, you guys go to the second break-in," Robin began to say before another alert triggered. Robin saw its location and noticed that the break-ins seemed to be in a straight line, as the next one was uptown and east again.

"Okay, new plan," Robin said in a frustrated tone. "Raven, you go to the third location, while Beast Boy and Cyborg go to the second. Starfire and I… will be splitting up so she can check out the original and I go to the newest one," Robin said, changing tack halfway through to accommodate another attack. This next one broke the pattern and had been triggered downtown and still further east of the last attack. Robin jumped on his R-Cycle and revved it up, preparing to take off. "Uh, guys… if you find or see anything that looks unusual, either bring it back with you or take a picture of it," he told them. "_Anything_ that looks out of place, even if it's explainable," he added sternly as he put on a helmet. The others just looked at him blankly as he tore off on his R-Cycle, not used to Robin speaking to them in such a way.

As Robin sped down the road, his mind was miles ahead of him, wondering what the break-ins were all about. As his communicator vibrated once again, Robin glanced down at it. He wondered once again who had been calling him all night. He pulled his communicator off his belt and stared at it as he once again debated opening up the communication line. As the pros and cons went back and forth in his mind, Robin glanced at the road and panicked: he was seconds away from a telephone pole.

Robin dove off his R-Cycle and hit the ground rolling. As his body jerked around, one of his fingers brushed the communicator's button and opened up the channel.

"_Well now Robin, it's nice to see that you finally have stopped trying to avoid me,_" came a voice over the speaker.

"Who are you?" Robin tried to ask in his usual demanding tone, but it came out mixed with tinges of curiosity and caution.

"_Well, that isn't so important. But what is important is that you and I have finally gotten a chance to talk. I've been looking forward to talking with you for quite some time now._"

"I don't know who you are, but you aren't going to get away with-"

"_With _what_, exactly?_" Robin opened his mouth to retort, but couldn't think of an answer to his mysterious person. "_Admit it Robin_," the deep voice said in a maddeningly calm tone, "_you don't know what I'm planning. And even if you did, you would not be any closer to finding out why._"

"Not yet, maybe," Robin confessed, gritting his teeth as he admitted his shortcoming, "but I _will_ find out. And when I do-"

"_You'll do what?_" the voice interrupted again, frustrating Robin as he was confronted with his total ignorance of this mastermind. "_You know nothing, and therefore you can do nothing. And you have nothing to threaten me with Robin: you don't even know who I am._"

"Not yet," Robin repeated grimly.

"_And not anytime soon,_" the voice retorted. "_But if you are interested in continuing our little game, you should know that the next clue is 'have'._"

"'Have'? What kind of a clue is that? Who has what, and where is it?" Robin demanded.

"_You'll know… in time,_" the voice said before the line went dead. Robin stared at it disbelievingly as he pondered the word that the voice had insisted was the next clue. He grit his teeth again in frustration and told the other Titans to meet him back at the tower whenever they were done inspecting their areas. As Robin headed for home, his mind whirled, the stranger's words concerning Robin's lack of information having gotten to him.

* * *

"Yo, Cy, you notice anything different about Robin?" Beast Boy asked as they landed at the newest location: a candy store.

"Yeah, he's a little stressed. Big deal, he's been up since one in the morning," Cyborg shrugged as he looked around, his human eye picking up nothing out of the ordinary, but his mechanical shuffling through different view modes.

"Yeah, but Robin's not the type to let sleepiness get to him," Beast Boy said before turning into a bloodhound and sniffing the ground. Unable to pick up a scent, he ventured closer to the store, his nose picking up hundreds of scents, but none of the ones belonging to a human seemed fresh enough to follow. "You see anything 'out of the ordinary'?"

"Not unless you count that," Cyborg said as he suddenly noticed a beige trench coat nailed to the door.

"Do you think we should take it," Beast Boy asked as he watched it flutter in the breeze.

"Don't see why not," Cyborg reasoned as he ripped it off the door. Flinging it over his shoulder, Cyborg turned to Beast Boy and pointed to the tower, an inarticulate yawn skewing whatever it was he was going to say. Beast Boy nodded and turned into a pterodactyl.

* * *

Starfire and Beast Boy walked down the bedroom corridor towards Robin's room, Starfire clutching a piece of paper while Beast Boy had the cloak. Raven phased in through the ceiling, her hands holding a CD.

"Raven, you too uncovered an item waiting for us?"

"Yes Starfire," Raven said grumpily as she walked with Starfire.

"Wha'd ya rent?" Beast Boy asked with a grin.

"Don't know. Nice fashion statement," Raven quipped as she looked at the detective cloak.

"Yeah, I thought it would match my eyes," Beast Boy joked.

"It is wonderful that we all have found clues. I am sure that Robin will be most grateful to you and all of us for finding them."

"Yeah, yeah," Beast Boy grumbled as he frowned. "Unless he's still in his 'army mode'."

"What do you mean?" Starfire asked.

"Don't you guys think Robin was a little short with us before?"

"When he told us we should be on the lookout? Maybe a little," Raven conceded.

"I did not detect anything different about him," Starfire said as they closer to Robin's room.

"I'm telling ya, something is off with Robin," Beast Boy insisted.

"And I disagree. Robin is simply tired."

"When has he ever let being tired get in the way of being nice? He never just barks orders at us."

"Beast Boy, you do have a point: Robin was rather terse with us before," Raven chimed in as their footsteps got closer and her voice got quieter. "But he has also been up all night putting out fires and trying to find whoever is committing these random break-ins. He's under quite a bit of stress right now, and he's taking it out on us. Its human nature to lash out at those closest when there is no other available outlet. If he realizes it, I'm sure he'll apologize. If not, then we shall have to deal with this incident: Robin has been polite to us in the past and until this behavior develops into a pattern we should let it alone."

Beast Boy opened his mouth to continue arguing his point, but shut it quickly when he saw Robin open his bedroom door.

"You guys find anything," Robin asked, his body tense and his voice exhausted. His hair was a mess, and Beast Boy's enhanced sense of smell detected the beginnings of sickness in Robin's body. His annoyance melting away, replaced by concern, Beast Boy offered the cloak, clenching his jaw when Robin took it without a word. "Nothing else was with this?" Robin asked in a barking tone as he rifled through the pockets.

"Nothing," Beast Boy said, struggling to keep concern for Robin in his mind instead of his annoyance.

"Robin, I was only able to locate this piece of paper," Starfire said as she offered a rolled-up scroll.

Robin took it from her and rolled it open, revealing four numbers. "25, 15, 21, and 18…" he muttered as he read them off. Theories about the numbers set off a chain of ideas in Robin's brain: latitude/longitude locations, pass codes, a code of some sort.

Raven stood for a few moments watching Robin stare at the paper before becoming annoyed: she had been up all night and was looking forward to getting some sleep. "Do you even _want_ my clue?" she said sarcastically as she offered Robin the CD. Robin looked at it and grabbed it, examining it for any fingerprints. "I already looked for those," Raven told him, deciding to save Robin the time.

"Thanks guys," Robin said as he let out a sigh of exhaustion.

He began to head back into his room when Starfire stepped forward. "Robin, are you sure you would not like some company?"

"Thanks Starfire, but I have to figure out whatever this guy is planning," Robin muttered as he walked in his room and the door slid closed behind him.

Starfire stood there for a moment before hanging her head. She turned around, but Beast Boy was already halfway down the hall and Raven had disappeared. She gloomily made her way back to her room when a usually chipper voice spoke up in an uncharacteristically somber tone. "Do you see what I was talking about?" Starfire turned around and saw Beast Boy, who had stopped walking towards his room and decided to talk with her.

"You… may have been right, Beast Boy," Starfire reluctantly conceded. "Robin does seem to be more… tense then usual."

"Told ya," Beast Boy said in a proud voice, regretting it when he saw how it made Starfire wince. "Look…" he said awkwardly, not sure of exactly where Starfire and Robin stood, "I'm sure after a good night's sleep he'll be back to normal. That and a good training session," he said, smiling at Starfire reassuringly. The Tamaranian perked up a bit at this and smiled, thanking Beast Boy before going to her room, a small smile on her face now.

* * *

Robin stood above his laptop, the disk slot exposed and the CD inside. He hesitated to close the CD cover, not knowing what could be on it. "It could be a ransom demand, or a terrorist threat," Robin thought to himself. "On the other hand, it could have spyware or some other kind of virus that will infect my laptop and possibly the Titan mainframe." Robin sighed, not knowing what the right decision was in a situation like this. He decided to insert it and scan it for any viruses or anything out of the ordinary.

As the disk loaded, Robin waited tensely for his firewalls to activate or for something else to happen. What he did _not_ expect, however, was for a clip of _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone_ to begin playing. Robin stared at the screen with a dumbfounded look as a loop began with Hagrid in the hut where the Dursley's were hiding.

"_A car crash? A car crash kill Lily and James Potter?_" As the movie began Petunia's response, it suddenly skipped and went back to the beginning of the line. "_A car crash? A car crash kill Lily and James Potter? -A car crash? A car crash kill- A car crash? A car crash kill- A car crash kill- car crash kill- crash kill- ash kill- sh kill…_"

As the movie began repeating those two sounds, Robin rubbed his temples again, wondering if he would get a bruise from doing it so often. As the sounds rolled around the room, Robin suddenly had an epiphany.

"Not 'sh kill.' Skill!" He said loudly in a triumphant voice. Robin pumped a fist in the air and grinned widely at having figured out one of the clues before the smile melted away, realizing he had solved none of the others, nor had he discovered their significance. Robin took the DVD out and laid it on the table before shutting down his laptop. Despite his frustration and curiosity, the night's events had taken their toll on his mind, and Robin drifted off to sleep soon after.

* * *

Robin woke up the morning, if not refreshed, then energized. As he made his way into the living room, he saw a pot of coffee still half-full. He sighed happily as he filled up a cup and grabbed an orange. Peeling it, he wondered where the rest of his team had gone. Robin looked around and noticed a note taped to the refrigerator.

_Yo Robin,  
_

_ Headed out to the park. Hope your feeling better and decide to join us._

_ -Cy_

Robin smiled at the thought of a day of relaxation, especially after last night, but his thoughts were disrupted by his communicator going off. "Hey guys, I'm on my way," he said as he grabbed it off his belt and began walking for the door.

"_Hmm, taking a break Robin? Disappointing: I was really hoping you were taking the protection of the city a little more seriously. Its not like you to slack off_," the voice from last night said.

Robin froze in his tracks as he stared at his com-link. "_Who is this_?" Robin hissed as her glared at the machine.

"_Come now Robin, you're a smart boy. Can't you figure it out for yourself?_" the voice taunted. Robin grit his teeth and began to snarl a response but was cut off again. "_Although you should be more concerned with what's happening at the corner of second and fifteenth_."

"Why? What's going on?" Robin asked as he hastily ran over to the Titan mainframe and looked up the location. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but Robin had a sinking suspicion that that wouldn't last long.

"_Nothing… yet. But time is wasting Robin, and I would hate for the people there to be alone_."

"Listen to me; you tell me what your planning or so help me God, I'll-" Robin threat was interrupted by the sound of the com-link going dead. Robin stared at it disbelievingly, shocked that whoever he had been talking with had hung up on him. Robin sent a message to the rest of the team via the mainframe, not sure if whoever was listening would be able to eavesdrop on them and unwilling to risk it, telling them to meet at the location. Robin hopped on his R-Cycle once again and took off, agitated by the taunts and nature of his mysterious adversary.

* * *

As the rest of the Titans arrived at the scene, they waited for Robin to get there. Cyborg peered inside the thread and yarn store and his jaw dropped in surprise.

"So what's the problem," Raven asked as she walked over to the window.

"I'm… it looks like something BB would do," was all Cyborg could say as he opened the door.

"Dude, what are you talking about?" Beast Boy asked indignantly as he followed them. "I wouldn't go ba…" Beast Boy stopped in the middle of a sentence as he entered and saw the mayhem. Every piece of string, thread, and yarn had been pooled together into one single mass. "Okay, this _does_ look like something I might do," he said, cracking a grin.

Cyborg walked up to the massive pile of string and tentatively put his right hand on it. He did not activate his Sonic Cannon, but instead he sent a few sonic waves through the pile to see if it was all consistent the entire way through, or if there was something hidden. The sonar went back to him indicating nothing unusual. "Looks like this is it," he said, scratching his head in confusion. "This is just getting weird: who does something like this?"

"Robin, have you seen this?" Starfire asked as she heard someone else enter the store. As she turned around, she saw Robin scrutinizing the mass of knots intently. "Robin, are you alright?" she said as she stepped towards him, worried at his intense expression.

"String, yarn, wire… no, none of them can be the word: they're all knotted together," Robin muttered as his mind tried to figure out the word that would signal the clue that he was being left. "All knotted together… maybe the word is knot," Robin mumbled.

"Robin…" Starfire said tentatively as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

Robin jumped from the contact, unaware that Starfire had been talking to him. "What, Starfire?" he asked, wincing apologetically when he realized how sharp he had sounded. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap, what is it?" he said in a gentler voice.

"Are you alright Robin?" Starfire asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Look… you guys, go back to the park," Robin said as he faced the rest of the team. "I'll finish things up here," he said.

"You sure man," Cyborg asked. "I mean, we don't mind hanging out here for a bit."

"No, you guys go," Robin said, trying to keep his voice friendly and not insistent. "I just need some time to think to myself," he said. Raven threw him a sharp look but Robin deliberately avoided her gaze and struggled to keep his mind focused on only the string and nothing else. His eyes instead wound up on Starfire, and his resolve weakened when he saw how lonely she looked.

"Are you positive that is what you want," Starfire asked as she took a step forward. Raven stepped forward quicker and put a hand on Starfire's shoulder, pulling her back and shaking her head. Starfire nodded and turned around.

"Catch you later dude," Beast Boy called as he transformed into a bird and picked up Cyborg. Robin nodded and waved, trying to remain calm as he waited for his communicator to activate.

* * *

"Raven, why did you tell me not to stay with Robin?" Starfire asked as the two girls flew back to the park.

Raven cast a suspicious look at Beast Boy and Cyborg and shook her head. She flew lower to the ground and motioned for Starfire to follow. As Beast Boy and Cyborg also descended, Raven shot them a look. "You listen, you'll regret it," she warned. Cyborg gulped and nodded, motioning for Beast Boy to taken him back up. "Because he wants to be alone right now," Raven explained once she was sure that the two boys were out of hearing range. "Robin is very preoccupied right now, and to crowd him would do more harm than good." Starfire nodded in understanding, and Raven wondered once again how she had become roped into explaining boys to Starfire.

* * *

Robin grit his teeth and paced back and forth impatiently as he waited for his communicator to go off again. As soon as it rang, Robin picked it up. "_Who are you_?" Robin snarled at the com-link, hoping he could intimidate whoever was on the other line.

Infuriatingly, the man on the communicator sounded quite amused. "_Patience Robin… patience. It is a difficult trait, but one well worth the effort to learn. I'm pleased that you told your friends to leave us alone for a chat: it does make things less complicated_."

Robin felt his gut churn in anger as he remembered the lies that he had told his friends, just so that he could get another chance to talk. He quelled the feeling with the hope that perhaps he would be able to lull the person into a false sense of security and get a lock on the location. "So… what are you planning?"

"_You sound calmer. Good: stress is no good for the body. You need to learn how to keep calm in situations. And you also need to be less subtle about trying to keep me on the line. Blustering would have worked better. East 2 avenues, and come alone_," the voice said before ending communication. Robin grit his teeth again but got on his motorcycle, wondering how he would explain this to the other Titans should they find out.

* * *

"So… Star's got the hots for Robin," Beast Boy said gleefully as he listened to a recording of Starfire and Raven's conversation. While they had moved further away, Cyborg had been able to use his mechanical ear to pick up most of what had been said and had recorded it.

"Dude, you couldn't tell?" Cyborg asked incredulously.

"No, I could, but now it's like out in the open," Beast Boy explained. "You think we should worm a confession out of Robin?"

Cyborg gave Beast Boy a deadly serious look. "Are you asking me if we should interrogate one of the best trained martial arts experts on matter of the heart concerning a girl? Definitely," he grinned.

* * *

Robin cautiously arrived at the abandoned construction site, not knowing what to expect. He had learned to be very careful when dealing with this person, and his hands stayed at his utility belt, ready to grapple away or launch an offensive if the situation called for either.

"_Robin. Robin? Robin, where are you?_" Starfire's voice came over the communicator.

"Uh, I'm investigating a possible break-in, why?" Robin whispered as he continued to look around for another clue.

"_Robin, did you communicator give you a signal somewhere in the city_?" Cyborg asked.

Robin blanched, unsure of whether Cyborg why Robin was where he was or if he was really asking. Unwilling to admit he had been contacted by someone else personally, Robin decided on a half-truth: "Yeah. Someone contacted me to show me a location," Robin confessed, expecting an angry retort. "I'm on my way there and was about to call you guys."

"_Yeah, well, whoever's been doing it just sent us each a location to go to too_," Beast Boy said.

"_They're all separate from each other. Do we go or should we investigate each one together_?" Raven asked.

"Go separate: we don't know what's there, but spread out we'll have a better chance to catch whoever is doing this."

"_Roger,_" Cyborg said before cutting off.

As Robin got off the communicator, it rang again. He took a deep breath to try to calm himself down before he picked up. "What do you want?" He asked as he opened up the link: he knew demanding the name of his taunter would only amuse him.

"_I want to know if you've found my next clue for you, Robin_," the voice said.

"What are you talking about? There's nothing here," Robin snapped as he looked around.

"_You shouldn't be so quick and rash, Robin. You might miss something of value_," the voice admonished.

"Don't lecture me," Robin snarled as he felt himself get angry again. "What right to you have to tell me what to do?"

"_Because I am better than you_," the voice said quite calmly before cutting the communication again. Robin growled in aggravation as he looked around for any clues. As he walked around, he caught a whiff of a faint odor of vanilla. Intrigued, he snooped around the area, following his nose until he came upon a large pile of melted wax.

"What the…" the rest of Robin's sentence was left hanging as his mind suddenly was able to figure it out. "Wax. That must be the clue," he muttered to himself as he tried to string the others together. "Have not wax…" he mumbled, stringing the past three clues together.

"Titans, when you've finished, rendezvous at the Tower," Robin ordered into his communicator as he tried to think about what the string of clues could mean…

* * *

Several hours later, Robin stared at the series of clue that the mysterious person had left for him. After Robin had found the wax and return to the tower, Cyborg had brought him a rusty knife, just before Beast Boy had given him a slip of paper with "ISV J 8:58" written on it. Raven had given him a small scroll with a riddle: "Satan has all, Christ had none, and when you think you have none, you're full of it." Starfire had given him a snapshot of the word "what __" carved into a wall. As the day had gone on, Robin had become increasingly bewildered, as the team had also uncovered a horseshoe welded to a stand so that the points were pointing straight up, an empty tin can, a solved Rubik's Cube, and a series of dots that had been shot into a w steel wall with some sort of laser. These last four clues had been left in a near perfect square pattern and had been retrieved by the other Titans as Robin stayed at the Tower trying to coordinate them while dealing with more taunts by his secret foe. Robin had already run the locations through a series of algorithms, but was unable to find a pattern or predict where the next attack would happen.

Starfire hesitantly knocked on the door, unsure if she should disturb Robin. He had locked himself in his room all day, not responding when she had offered him dinner or the chance to potato the couch. She took a deep breath and knocked, wondering if he would finally answer. "Robin…" she called softly as she heard no response. As the silence stretched out, she became less and less confident, but decided to knock one more time. As she knocked again, the door slid open a little of its own accord and she peered inside.

Starfire looked with pity at Robin as she saw him passed out on his desk. His head was turned to the side and he was drooling slightly as he snored. Starfire gently picked up Robin, and she realized how exhausted he was when he didn't wake up: a person who had trained as hard as he had in martial arts should have awakened instantly when she had opened the door. As she put him on the bed, she turned and looked at the map of Jump City. She noticed that Robin had been terracing different lines between the various break-ins, but hadn't been able to develop a pattern. Starfire made to leave before she did a double take on the dots. Since she had just recently learned the Earth alphabet, she recognized that certain dots looked like letters. She picked up the pen and began to trace some lines, hoping Robin would not be made at her for interfering with the investigation.

When she was done, Starfire simply stared at the message that had been revealed. She wondered what this would mean for Robin, who would no doubt feel responsible for not realizing the pattern sooner, though it was only discernable after every dot was revealed.

* * *

First of all, sorry this one took so long to do, but original chapters that are mysteries are really not my strong suit. Sorry to rush it at the end, but I was running out of ideas to make the team run around, and I figured summarizing it would be better then stretching it out but sacrificing quality. I decided to try to give a shorter chapter here, sort of a reading break for you guys and a writing break for myself. By the way, the message _will_ be revealed in a chapter or two, but anyone who cares to venture a guess is certainly welcome to do so, and I will tell you if you are right, or how close you came.

Next, before anyone says anything about plot holes, I will explain a few. One, I couldn't figure out what would happen if you mixed Halon gas with water, but again, I figured I could take artistic liberty. Also, I know that Slade killed the HIVE Headmistress, but Robin has no reason to suspect that; he thinks that Slade hired them and paid. Second, from everything I've been able to figure out, Robin is the one who was an apprentice to Batman (I actually had no idea there was more than one: my superhero knowledge is usually woefully ignorant, and I ask you all to bear with me on that).

Also, let me be clear: I am NOT advocating or referencing anything that has to do with religious violence or promotion. The word 'sure' had to be conveyed to Robin in some way, and surety of the afterlife in a pamphlet was the only way I could think of.

If you want to try to solve the puzzle, here are a couple of clues. First, there are 22 parts to the message, but 23 words. Second, the 'w' that Cyborg took a picture of should be flipped upside-down, since he took a picture of it from the ceiling. Third, when Robin is first contacted, the clues' order gets a little skewed. They are not in the order presented, but in the order of the break-ins.

All that being said, I hope that got Slade's character right, as well as Robin's response to his taunts. If anyone has a suggestion for me to modify either of them, please let me know: I would appreciate it very much. Also, if anyone has an idea for another original chapter/episode where Robin focuses on Slade again, I'd really appreciate it: I can't think of anything else at the moment. Hope you all enjoyed it.


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